Who wants to be a ninja?
by Ashi Shukuns
Summary: Step right up, submit your character through review, be included in the wildest, most action packed, romantic, tragic, humorous, adventurous Naruto OC fanfic the world has ever seen! Read inside for details, submission form, and any submission deadlines.
1. Character Form

Okay!! This is our first story that we've written _together_ - both of us have written several on our own - and we've also decided to put a twist on it. We got this idea from Psycho turtle, but we're using it anyway. Tee hee.

Umm, alrighty. Now moving on to more serious business.

This fic is basically going to be a story written about all of YOU. That's right, YOU. You will create a character in a review that you will send to us, and we will create a story. The differences between this story and any others that you might have read that were similar to this are:

1. We will be setting deadlines for character submission forms, in order to permit our story to have a well-defined plot. If you don't make a deadline, try the next one, though we may have to close off new submissions if we get too many characters Please keep in mind that your character may not be included in a chapter but still have made the deadline; we will inform you if this happens.

2. We will be making main and secondary characters (main being, example, people like Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, secondary being like Neji, Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Temari, etc.). First come, first serve. If you don't _want_ to be a main character, please just say so in your review, though we're doubting anyone will say that.

Other than that, this will be a total free-for-all, with every character submitted included in whatever way is available! W00T!

Note: This is set around the time when the new Genin rookies just gradutated from the Academy. We need a good number of genin and some jounin. Just to let you know.

**Rules**

1. Your character must have an appropriate name, eg. no "Slutty McSkank-Skank". That's disgusting. If your character has an inappropriate name, he/she will not be used.

2. Your Character Form must contain ALL of the manditory fields. If a manditory field is missed and is not fixed in the next 48 hours, your character will not be included. You don't have to fill out fields that aren't manditory, but it helps us tremendously when writing about your character.

3. You may not submit any more than one character, no matter how minor. This will confuse us and your character will not be included.

4. Any and all obscenety is not allowed in the reviews.

5. If possible, use a translator for your character's name. You don't have to do this, but it makes your character's name more, for lack of better word, cool, and you can also make it mean whatever you want.

6. If you make a request to be paired up with someone, someone else may have taken it already. Please be tolerant, we might pair you up with a second choice, or even an OC (don't worry, all pairings will make sense).

7. Please read through to the last chapter _before_ submitting your character form. This way you know a) what's happening in the storyline and what sort of character we could use, and b) If we've opened/closed submissions, you know about it and don't submit a character that won't be used.

8. Don't bug us about updates; we have school and extracurricular activities and stuff, not to mention our own lives to live. For every review we get asking us to update, we will update three days later than originally planned.

9. We have the right to change anything we want about your character if neccesary - though it's unlikely. Try to keep it real so we don't have to change them, though we might change your character's rank to fit the story better. Repeat: We _do_ have the right to do this. It's our story, not just the author's but yours, too, and we're really gonna try to include everyone in some way.

10. Have fun with this story. We'll be, too.

**Character Form (underlined sections are manditory)**

**First Name:**

**Surname:**

**Name Meaning:**

**Gender:**

**Age:**

**Height/Weight (helps us a lot; can be approximate or exact):**

**Appearance _(please_ remember to add where the hitai-ate goes!) **

**Personality, Talents, etc.:**

**Ninja Rank (not a ninja, Genin, Chuunin, etc.):**

**Fighting Style: **

**Family:**

**Other things: (allergies or bloodline limits, for example)**

* * *

I (LordXwee) shall fill it out for an example, but it really is _my_ character. 

**First Name: **Hinote

**Surname:** Kazuki

**Gender: **Female

**Age: **24

**Height/Weight:** 5'7". 130 lbs.

**Appearance:** Long, dark red hair, pulled back into ponytail. Headband worn across forehead. Wears regular green Chuunin vest. Black colored pants/clothes, with fire-like symbol on front of shirt, representing the Kazuki Clan. Red ninja sandals. (_note: try to be very discriptive here, please. It helps us writers)_

**Personality, Talents, etc.: **Shy sometimes, but opens up more to people she knows well. Willing to put her life on the line to save someone important to her. She is strong-willed and very caring. Her talents for medical skills is unique, because she can give people some of her own chakra to replenish their's. On the other side, she can also steal chakra from people, making enemies weak,they are usually not being able to fight if too much chakra was taken.

**Fighting Style:** Uses mostly fire-style jutsus. The Ancient Blood Fire Blade techinque instantly kills, there's no possible way to block it. If it hits a clone/subtitution, you're still dead. Technique passed down generations in the clan, but it takes all of her chakra, and after using it, she usually passes out and goes into a coma. Also a great medical-nin.

**Family: **Both parents are dead since of an incident when they had to protect the clan. Enemies ambushed the place during a ceremony, and both use the Ancient Blood Fire Blade. It didn't kill all of the ninjas, so the few extra killed them after the collapsed. Her brother, Mizu, reject from the clan because he studied water-style jutsus, organized this attack after he was banished. He is now missing, but Hinote doesn't talk about him.

**Other things: **Has a kekkai genkai, immune to fire. During the Chuunin Exam, both her partners in her team died, and their scroll was taken. Avenging her teammates, Hinote got back both scrolls, and made it through that round alone. Even though her teammates died, they made an exception and let her continue. Finished the Chuunin Exam, leaving as a Jounin.

* * *

And here's my (Natsyourlord's) stuff. XD 

**First Name: **Tokoro (Place)

**Surname: **Seiryoku (Energy)

**Name Meaning:** Place of Energy

**Gender:** Male

**Age:** 12

**Height/Weight (helps us a lot; can be approximate or exact): **5'4/120lbs

**Appearance: **Reddish-brown shaggy hair that falls into eyes, which are blue-green. Pale comlexion, often has dark circles under eyes. Wears a large gray coat with a high collar and dark green buttons. Coat is usually unbuttoned. Wears white T-shirt underneath. Navy blue slacks. Usual navy blue shinobi sandals; also has wrap-thing around shins like Kakashi's. Konoha headband worn on forehead. Has a black glove on right hand (left hand doesn't have one) with a dark red ruby, roughly the size of a dime, embedded on the back. Glove is for use of and protection from family's trademark technique (see Fighting style).

**Personality, Talents, etc.: **Friendly and willing, but not peppy. Kind of on the shady side, unless explaining something. Never discusses family life with anyone. Likes to climb very high in trees and stay in them all night, staring at the stars. Hates socialists, believes people should earn what they get. Likes things to be challenging but not too hard, as is competetive and hates to lose. Games like chess, othello and goh are favorites, as they require intelligence and skill. A decent storyteller, is always telling tales to classmates and teachers. Doesn't want to get into a relationship yet, as is looking for someone "worth his time". Goal is to become a tracker, like father, and hunt down the missing nins that killed father.

**Ninja Rank (not a ninja, Genin, Chuunin, etc.): **Genin of Konoha.

**Fighting Style: **Is very fast and uses speed often, getting behind people and striking weak joints (backs of knees, for example). Not fantastically strong, but uses high intellect to advantage. Memorized the human body in order to be able to stab vital points and avoid parts of the body that won't matter. When angry, loses control and accuracy rates go down by 50 percent, though when he does land a hit it's very powerful. In times of desperation, uses family technique, the Tatsumaki (means twister) that has the appearance of a small tornado whirling violently around the hand. The winds in the Tatsumaki are very destructive, moving at up to 200 mph, which is why he must wear the glove - otherwise skin and fingernails would be ripped clean off. Not only is the technique dangerous, but it also uses up tremendous amounts of chakra - unless your stamina is abnormally high you will pass out after using it. He's working on the passing out part.

**Family: **Lives with younger sister. Both parents are dead, father being killed on a tracking mission and mother commiting suicide a month after his death.

**Other things: (allergies or bloodline limits, for example) **Is allergic to cats. Slightly alektorophobic (alektorophobia is fear of chickens).

* * *

Ok, to start a little plot going, we shall start with a little story-starter, even though they might be random. 

Kakashi stood from afar, watching Asuma and Kurenai just stand there, talking. _Lucky Asuma,_ Kakashi thought_, that he has Kurenai. All I have is my Icha Icha book. Heh. Icha Icha._ Kakashi grabbed his usual bright orange book from his back pocket and began to read.

"Excuse me," a voice said.

_Frammit,_ Kakashi thought again,_ I was at a good part._ He turned around to see a woman standing there. Her dark red hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore the regular green Chuunin vest, with black clothes underneath. A fire-like symbol was on the front of her shirt, symbolizing some clan. Also, she had on fingerless gloves with the metal plate on the back like his, but they were a dark red color.

"Where do I go to meet the new Genin?" she asked. Kakashi stared blankly at her, thinking of how ironic this was.

"That way." Kakashi said, pointing west.

"Oh, thank you. My name's Hinote Kazuki, by the way," added the woman politely.

"Kakashi Hatake," He replied. She nodded slightly, then walked off in that direction. Kakashi smiled under his mask, sat down to continue reading his book.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Academy, a reddish-brown haired boy fiddled with his brand new Konoha headband, waiting for his name to be called. 

He glanced around at his classmates, knowing that only nine out of the whole class would become actual genin. The rest of them would have to spend another year at the academy, re-doing their training. No matter, what happened, he vowed, he would ensure he was one of the nine. He had to become a ninja _now_. The money his parents had left for him and his sister was steadily dwindling, and he wasn't sure how much longer it would last. They needed another form of income soon, or else-

The boy's train of thought was interruped when he heard the teacher at the front of the room, Iruka (not sensei, he had to remind himself, Iruka was no longer his teacher) called out his name.

"Team Five; Tokoro Seiryoku..."

* * *

So, that's basically it. Start sending in those forms, people! XD 

-Natsyourlord & LordXwee


	2. Squad Five

Wow. Lotsa reviews. Thank you for all the submissions! But, I did some math. So far, we have 9 genin, (all those submissions and Tokoro) To become Genin, only 9 will pass and all others go back to the Academy. And we'll probably make some from other villages - you know, like when we get to the Chuunin exams. And some of you we may kill off. Sorry. So, it's sort of like a first come first serve thing. If you would, please continually check the reviews and make sure that one class off ninja (at the moment, it's Jounin) isn't short on numbers, and if they are, please try and make a character with that class, rather than a group with a large number of people in it already (Genin). Neutral classes, such as ANBU or Chuunin, are also appreciated.

PLEASE NOTE! The first nine Genin submitted will pass, most likely, unless we decide otherwise. **You may still add in characters**, but we will sometimes do a scene at the Academy every now and again. We also must include a DEADLINE this time. Gasp. Please, no more submissions after Saturday, September 8th. We can't keep adding in new characters at random times. Other then that, I think we are all set. Enjoys!

* * *

"...Team Five; Tokoro Seiryoku..." 

Tokoro glanced up._ Team Five. Alright. I just need some decent teammates..._ He looked around the room at the other faces, all staring intently at Iruka, who was reading the next name off the list. "Tsurai Aikou..."

A girl with long dark hair wearing a dark blue trenchcoat on the other side of the room glanced up, then turned her gaze to Tokoro, who shifted uncomfortably. _Tsurai? She's not weak, so she won't hold back the team, but she never talks... then again, I don't talk much either, so that evens stuff out, I suppose..._

"... and Kaeri Utir," finished Iruka, looking up and smiling.

Kaeri, a girl with long golden hair and eyes to match, turned around in her seat and caught Tokoro looking down at her. He gave her a nod, and she grinned and turned back around as Iruka began to list off the next team. "Team six: Randamu Datesha..."

No longer paying attention, Tokoro snuck another glimpse at Tsurai. She was staring down at her desk, looking bored; her face was ropped up against her hand, and with her free hand it appeared she was doodling on the desk. Her eyelids were drooping down over her icy blue eyes, completing the bored look.

Behind him, Tokoro suddenly noticed two of the other new Genin whispering angrily to each other. Without turning around, the boy closed his eyes and listened, tuning out Iruka's voice. He recognized the angry whispers as belonging to two classmates as opposite as you could get - Akemi Chiasa, smart, peppy and faithful, and Yami Kira, dark, serious, and rumored to be a cutter. The two were always getting into fights over everything - if you locked them in a room together in order for them to "sort out their differences", one would probably end up killing the other. And their arguments were _always_ interesting, as both regularly used words some people hadn't even heard before.

"You idiot," Yami muttered under his breath. "If you actually manage to pass, and become a fully-fledged shinobi, do you really think you'll last? You can't rely on other people. The only person you can trust is yourself." As if for good measure, the fox-lover blew some air through his nose.

Anger was practically emnating from Akemi as she hissed her response through gritted teeth. "You're the idiot, fox boy," she growled, "You're _supposed_ to rely on others. If you don't, you die. That's the way it works. End of story. _Bai bai._"

"Blah, blah, blah. Moron. What if you're too weak and can't help your teammates and they die? Hm? Or what if it's the other way around? You're relying on people who might not be there for you. And if they're not there for you..." Yami trailed off, the smirk evident in his voice.

"Team Eight; Yami Kira..."

"I'll be glad to be on any team, so long as it's not with you," Akemi whispered, uncharacteristically harsh.

"...Akemi Chiasa..."

"WHAT?" Yami and Akemi yelled at the same time. Tokoro attempted to suppress a snort, failed, and covered it up with a fake-sounding cough.

"...and Hamano Asuka."

Hamano, a broad-shouldered girl sitting next to Tsurai, let out a loud moan. "Sensei, why am I on a team with _them?_" she groaned. "I mean, Akemi's okay, and Yami's, well, odd, but when you put the two together - I mean, can't you stick them with someone else?" By the time Hamano was finished, both Akemi and Yami were sending death glares at their third teammate.

"Hamano, settle down," said Iruka sternly. "The squads are constructed based on how well each of you did. As far as scores go, you, Akemi, and Yami were extremely close, so we placed the three of you on one team. That's the way the ball bounces."

"I am NOT going to be on a SQUAD with HER!" Yami yelled, standing up.

"And I am NOT going to be within a five-mile radius of HIM!" Akemi yelled, also standing up.

"Both of you, shut it!" Hamano screamed, louder than both of them. "Geez," she muttered under her breath, along with something that sounded like, "And they say I can't be shaken by anything... God."

Iruka looked down at his list again, grinned, and looked back up at the students."Well, that's everyone. Now, your new instructors will soon be here to pick you up and bring you to a random location in Konoha. Your instructor may ask you to introduce yourselves. Please treat them with as much respect as you would me." With that, Iruka gathered some papers on his desk and walked out of the room. Immediately after the door was closed, Akemi and Yami began arguing again.

"_Don't_ hold me back, wolf girl!"

"Ditto for you, fox boy!"

"QUIET!" roared a man who was wearing a Chuunin vest, even though it was obvious from the way he held himself that he was a Jounin. It was clear that he had slipped into the room while the rest of the class was watching Akemi and Yami fight.

The man's grimace changed almost instantly into a wide smile. "My name is Koudo Kobushi. I'm here for... ah... Squad Eight?" he said, appearing

All three members of Squad Eight whipped around and stared at the man in shock.

"I'm gonna assume it's the three of you who are looking at me like I've got a third arm. C'mon, then, let's go." Koudo turned around and walked out of the room, still grinning hugely. Akemi, Yami, and Hamano followed, stunned, in his wake.

The whole room was enveloped in silence. The question on everyone's minds was, _Who's going to come in next?_ But the door stayed shut, and all the class could do was wait.

They didn't have to wait that long.

When the door finally opened again, in stepped a tall woman with long, dark red hair that was pulled back. Her dark eyes scanned the classroom. Everyone stared.

"Squad Five?" she asked in a voice that was, not quiet, but not authoritive-like, either. Tokoro stood slowly at the sound of his team being called, and walked down the steps to the front of the classroom to join Kaeri and Tsurai.

"That it?" asked the woman, clearly not expecting to be answered. "Okay, then. Let's go." She walked out the door, Tsurai following the woman, Tokoro following her, and Kaeri following him.

The woman led them to a rooftop balcony on one of the political buildings in the village. "The Hokage is letting us use this rooftop as a meeting place for today," said the woman, looking at all of them closely, as though scrutinizing them.

"Okay then," she sighed finally, sitting cross-legged on the floor. The three new genin followed her example. "My name is Hinote Kazuki. I'm going to be your Jounin instructor."

Tokoro, Kaeri, and Tsurai stared at her in silence.

"Um... Alrighty, then," Hinote said, sounding slightly nervous. "Uh... How about you three introduce yourselves? Let's start with you." She pointed at Kaeri.

"Uh, okay, then," Kaeri stammered, sounding surprised at being chosen. "My name's Kaeri... Kaeri Utir. I'm twelve years old... um... I live on my own... I have a wolf cub named Aeuri, she's just a cub but I'm training her to help me fight... and I like cheering people up!" she finished with a failed attempt at cheerieness.

Hinote stared at her for a second, appearing to be thinking, then looked at Tokoro. "How about you?"

Tokoro was silent for a moment; he really didn't like talking in front of people. "Um, well, my name's Tokoro Seiryoku, I'm also twelve - almost thirteen..." he trailed off for a moment, then continued. "I like to play chess or any other game that lets me think... like goh or something... and I'm going to become a tracker." He said the last part with a note of finality.

Hinote looked at him for a second longer than she had Kaeri, then finally turned to Tsurai. "And you?"

Tsurai was also quiet for a moment, and when she did start talking, her voice was very quiet. "My name is Tsurai - Aikou, that is, Tsurai Aikou," she mumbled, a flush creeping up her neck. "I'm... twelve also... and I don't like speaking... in front of people I don't know very well." She suddenly jerked her head back and stared upwards, as though a bullet had been fired directly over her head. "And I really, really don't like birds," she added.

Hinote stared at Tsurai longest of all. "Wellll... Okay, then," said Hinote finally. "And, as I said before, I'm Hinote Kazuki. I specialize in fire style jutsu. And as a fun fact for you, I became a Jounin without ever becoming a Chuunin." She smiled. The three Genin stared.

"Eheh... Umm... That's all for today," said Hinote finally, sounding relieved. "Oh - one last thing. You three have a training exercise tomorrrow, nine AM sharp. Don't be late, bring your ninja equipment, annnnd... ah, yes." She grinned. "Don't eat breakfast - or you'll throw up."

* * *

Yes. 'Tis the end of Chapter 2. I hope you all liked it, and you know you can review saying how you liked it, not just the character forms. (wink wink)

-Natsyourlord and LordXwee


	3. Riddles?

Ok. Now. The submissions are (currently) closed. We'd like to thank you all for submitting your characters and we'll try to add in as much as everybody as we can. But please don't go "LYKE OMG, ADD IN MORE OF MY CHARACTER!!!!" 1) That's really annoying, and 2) We'll probably kill your character off. If it's something like, "Oh, I can't wait to see my character and what happens next to him/her, that's okay because that's really not that annoying/bad. This chapter is more about Team Five, but we PROMISE that a lot of others will be introduced soon. Really. WE PROMISE.

Note to **LovesPocky007 **We'll add in your character. But we can't do the pairing because that is an OC from Every Little Ninja, and it could be taken as like 'stealing' him from that story. People these days would probably yell at us... and we don't like being yelled at... sorry. If that character or one similar is added later in the story, we will pair you up with him. Thanks for tolerating us!

* * *

Toroko sat at the edge of his bed, scrolls and books scattered around him. _Research. I know I can find what this test is about. I just...have to...stay awake... _He yawned hugely, his jaw almost detatching itself from his face. 

He rubbed his eyes and picked up another book and started flicking through the pages. Suddenly, something caught his eye.

_So, this is about Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja. I've heard he's an excellent Jounin. _Toroko stopped and re-read the last sentence.

_What the - only one team has passed his test? Whoa. I'm not sure, but I have a hunch... this may be connected to our 'training exercise'. Maybe Hinote-sensei knows him somehow?_ He scanned the page once more, but couldn't find any more information.

"Tokoro?"

He looked up at the sound of his name being called to see his sister, Sakemi, standing in the doorway of his room in her pajamas. Her blue eyes were halfway shut, her reddish-brown hair was mussed, and her mouth was slightly open.

"I had a nightmare," she explained blearily.

"Aw, Sakemi..." Tokoro got up from his bed and gave his little sister a hug. "C'mon. It was only a dream. You have school tomorrow - let's get you back to bed."

* * *

Tsurai was already at the designated meeting point - the huge memorial stone in the clearing in the forest - when Tokoro got there, but Kaeri was yet to be seen. Tokoro had known where the meeting place was to be, but he was still shocked and scared when he saw the stone, and Tsurai standing next to it, staring at the ground with a forlorn look. 

"Hey, Tsurai," he said as he walked into the clearing. The girl looked up, flushed slightly, and gave Tokoro a shy wave before burrowing her hands deep into the pockets of her dark trenchcoat.

Tokoro walked over to the memorial stone. His eyes scanned the many names listed on the stone, until one name stopped him cold.

He stretched out one hand and carefully traced the name over with his finger. He mouthed the words, screamed them a thousand times in his head, but somehow it wasn't enough to get out this sudden wave of sadness. A knot tightened in his throat as he whispered the name. Eyes brimming with liquid, he closed them and fought the hot tears that had begun to trickle down his face.

At some point Tsurai must have walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder, because suddenly there she was, patting his arm comfortingly. "What...um... what's wrong?" she mumbled quietly, looking nervously at him through her bangs.

Tokoro turned to meet her gaze. "N-Nothing... it's allergies..." he muttered, turning away.

She obviously didn't believe him, as she began to read the names on the stone. Her sudden gasp told him she must have found the name. "Kigakiku Seiryoku," she whispered. "Is that your brother?"

"I d-don't know who he is... I'm not c-c-crying, I told you." He clenched his fists in frustration. He was trying to hold them back, the rivers of tears, but they wouldn't stop and no matter how hard he willed it, his tears just wouldn't cease. It was stupid. He was stupid. Why the hell was he crying!?

Tokoro shoved Tsurai's hand off his shoulder and turned away. _I hate you, Father,_ he thought, _I hate you for making me show any sign of weakness. I hate you for leaving me and Sakeme, all alone. And I hate you, most of all, for dying on that mission!_ In frustration he lashed out and kicked the stone with all his might. Tsurai stepped back in shock.

"I shouldn't look like this. It's shameful," he said in a surprisingly level tone. He turned back around. Tsurai was staring at him, eyes huge.

"Please don't tell anyone about this. I'm sorry you had to see me like that," he mumbled.

She opened her mouth to say something, but he held up a hand to stop her. "Please."

Swallowing her words, she gave a slight nod and looked away.

A sudden rustling, accompanied by an animal-like yip, alerted them that their third teammate had arrived.

"Hey, guys, I'm here. Where's Hinote-sensei?" asked Kaeri, coming into the clearing. A silvery wolf cub trotted happily at her heels. "Whoa, what's wrong with _you_ two?" the blonde asked, seeing their solemn faces.

* * *

Hinote herself was in a bit of a jam that morning as well. 

"Um, excuse me?" Hinote said, tapping on the shoulder of the odd green jumpsuited man who was blocking the road.

"Yo, WASSUP DAWG!?!" He replied.

"What the...?"

"WE IS DOIN' DA RAPPER 'TING TUHDAY, YO!" said the boy standing next to him. They scarily looked alike. They also both wore gold peace-sign necklaces, dollar sign rings, and diamond-stud earrings.

"O-ok...I'll just back away now..." Hinote said.

"GIIIIIIIIIIIRL! YA AIN'T LEAVIN' 'TILL YA SEEN THE LADIES DANCE!" The creepy tall green-suited man said.

"YEA! DA LADIES DANCE, YO!" The creepier shorter green-suited boy said.

Randomly, the taller one started breakdancing so fast on the ground that all Hinote saw was a big green blur. The shorter one started rapping, while Hinote tried to block it out. Then the taller one stopped spinning, got on one knee and pulled out some more bling-bling. "FO SHIZZLE!"

"What are you guys doing?"

Hinote whipped around and saw Kakashi randomly standing there. _How does he move silently like that?_

"YO KAKASHI-"

"Shut up, Lee! This is youthful business between me and my RIVAL!"

"Um, yeah. You guys mind letting this young lady through? She sorta has to get to her new Genin squad."

"Not until you DUEL me, Kakashi!"

"Shut UP, Gai." Kakashi pushed Gai to the ground in a very cool way. "Sorry 'bout that," he said cheerily.

"Thanks," Hinote called over her shoulder, already running down the street.

* * *

"Hi, everybody. Sorry that took so long," said Hinote as she arrived in the clearing. Tokoro grunted. Tsurai mumbled something inaudible. Kaeri grinned. 

"It's okay, Hinote-sensei. I just got here myself."

"Un. Well, anywho, it's time to start your test." Hinote smirked knowingly. "I have these two scrolls." She held up a blue-and-white scroll and a red-and-black scroll. "One says Pass on the inside, the other, fail. You three have to figure out which one is which, then come and find me and take the right one. If you get the one that says Pass, you pass. And if you get the one that says Fail, you, well, fail."

"Does this mean we're going back to the Academy if we fail?" he asked. 

Hinote smiled. "Smart boy. That's right, going back to the Academy is your punishment for failure."

"What?!" excalimed Tsurai and Kaeri simutaneously.

"You can't do that!" Kaeri shrieked. "We were at the Academy for years!"

"That's not my problem," shrugged Hinote. "Sorry. Your test begins now." Almost before finishing her sentence she had jumped into the trees, leaving the three Genin stading with their mouths open.

* * *

"Now what?" said Akemi to no one in particular. "We're supposed to get scrolls from him? SCROLLS?" 

"That's what I heard," sighed Hamano. "C'mon, we'd better get going."

The trio leaped after Koudo, looking for any sign of him.

"Hey! I see something!" hollered Akemi, bounding ahead.

"Christ," growled Yami, chasing after her with Hamano following close behind.

When they'd caught up to Akemi, she was tracing over carvings in a tree trunk.

"It's a riddle," she said, grinning broadly.

_There are twenty people in an empty, square room. Each person has full sight of the entire room and everyone in it without having to move any part of the body, excepting the eyes. Where can you place an apple so that all but one person can see it?_

* * *

Team Five stared at the riddle in confusion. 

"How is it possible that ten people can see the entire room without moving?" asked Kaeri.

"That's not the riddle, is it," replied Tsuki cooly.

"Geez..."

"Hmm... said Tokoro, staring intently at the carvings. "Wait - I think I've got it."

* * *

TBC. 

Sorry this took so long! We're really sorry. In the meantime, see if you can solve the riddle. If three or more people can solve it (don't cheat, please), we'll scan a bunch of chibis of every character in the series onto the computer and post it somewhere random (probably photobucket)!

Oh, and by the way, we need three more Konoha Genin to be the last three of the new rookie nine. Preferrably two guys and a girl, cause the other two teams are two girls and a guy. So, yah. Send in those character forms!

'Till next time!"

-Natsyourlord and Lord Xwee


	4. Make go boom!

LordXwee: Hello and welcome to the next long awaited chapter of WWTBAN! Three people (and more) got the riddle right, so Natsyourlord is working on the chibis which might take awhile, because there's a lot of you and she wants to make 'em special.

Natsyourlord: There's so many of them! I don't wanna make 'em special, I wanna make 'em DONE! Waaaahh...

LordXwee: Haha, now it's a good thing that I can't draw. Anyway, sorry with the submission confusion, we worked on this story at different times so one of us forgot to change the top. But NOW submissions are actually closed. If we need anyone else, we will say something. Enough with this intro, onto the story!

Natsyourlord: PLEASE no more submissions! PLEASE!!!! (starts drawing)

* * *

"It's on top of one person's head. Everyone else can see it except for the person whose head it is on." 

Kaeri blinked. "Hey, you're right. That's gotta be it."

"Hey, um, Tokoro..." Tsurai mumbled. "You figured it out, so maybe we're supposed to... carve the answer into the tree? To show Hinote-sensei that we answered it?"

"Maybe... but this seems like a field exercise. Maybe just a mark on the tree or something. To show that we get the message, but not reveal it to any enemy shinobi?" said Kaeri thoughtfully.

Tokoro fidgeted with the buttons on his coat, thinking. _That doesn't quite seem right... Wait, that's what they _want_ us to do! Of course! _"No, because as you said, Kaeri, this is a field exercise. Even if we left a mark, It would show to the enemy that we were here. Maybe the next step has something to do with the answer to the riddle..."

* * *

"Hey!" Akemi exclaimed as she finished carving the answer into the tree. She suddenly knew exactly what they had to do. "I know. We have to go to the top of the Hokage's head. You know, the stone memorials!" 

Hamano glanced at Akemi. "Know what? You're probably right. That's where we need to go next. Great!" She slapped Akemi hard on the back. Akemi winced.

"Let's go, then," Yami put in, running his fingers through his mohawked hair. "We don't want Koudo to get too far away."

* * *

"Let's go, Kodomo," said Makoto Himura, a child of eleven with dark eyes. No one was quite sure whether or not Makoto was a boy or a girl, and they (it?) never bothered to tell anyone. "No more exploding tags." 

Kodomo, a boy with spiky brown hair and one of Makoto's two teammates, giggled and pocketed his exploding tags. "Make go boom!" he shrieked.

"Really, Kodomo," scolded Makoto's other teammate, a girl named Aoiro with a blue ponytail and brown-gray eyes. "We need to go now!"

Kodomo giggled again, grinned up at his teammates, and leaped up into the trees after them.

* * *

Tokoro, Tsurai, and Kaeri stood at the top of the mountain, staring at all five of the Hokage's heads. 

"Well, this is fantastic," growled Kaeri. "Which head do we go to?"

"Not a clue," Tokoro replied, folding his arms. He thought back to the original riddle. "Maybe it has something to do with the riddle again...?" He knew he was missing something, but he couldn't think of what...

Tsurai blinked. "H-Hey, I think I got it," she said. "The first Hokage. Because... because he wore red, right? Red like an apple. None of the others... wore red... just him."

"Wow, that's it!" squealed Kaeri. "Awesome!" Aeuri gave a bark of agreement.

Tokoro gestured for the others to follow him, then he jumped down towards the First Hokage's head.

* * *

Makoto stared intently at the next riddle, written on a scrap of blue paper and pinned to the rock with a kunai. _Wow,_ Makoto thought, _This one's tricky. The first one was kinda obvious, but this one is... wow._

Aoiro, the oldest of the group, read it aloud.

"I'm as small as an ant, as big as a whale. I'll approach like a breeze but can come like a gale. By some I get hit but all have shown fear. I dance to the music, though I can't hear. Of names I have many, of names I have one. I'm slow as a snail, but from me you can't run."

"Hmm," said Kodomo, for once not loudly. He began spinning in a circle, his way of expressing intense thought.

"What could this mean...?" mumbled Aoiro, barely audible.

_Small as an ant, big as a whale... so does that mean it can change size?_ Makoto thought.

Suddenly, they heard shoes clacking from behind them. Makoto whirled around and saw...

"Tokoro, Tsurai, and Akemi? What?"

* * *

At that moment, Team Eight arrived at the Hokage's head. 

"...What's everyone doing here?" asked Hamano, obviously confused.

"We just got here ourselves," said Tokoro.

Aoiro held the riddle out to Akemi, Yami, and Hamano. "I guess you guys oughta read this, too. It's another riddle."

Yami scoffed. "Easy. I solved the first riddle like _that_." He snapped his fingers.

"I bet I can solve it before you can!" Akemi exclaimed.

"I bet you can."

"Here, give me that rock!" she snapped, snatching it from him. Upon reading the riddle, however, she immediately stopped.

"Do you know it or not, _baka_?" Yami said, staring at Akemi.

"E-Excuse me? _Baka_? Aren't you talking about yourself, fox boy?" Akemi retorted, glaring back at Yami. She positively hated the kid! He acted all cocky, what with his _I don't give a shit_ attitude and his disgusting hair, and his ridiculous tattoo. Who the heck even tattooed a fox onto their face? Why, oh, _why_ had she been stuck with him, of all the kids in the class?

"Nope. That's all you." Yami replied cooly, looking away. This only added on to Akemi's frustration.

"OOH, YOU ARE-" But before she could finish the longest string of swear words she knew, something slapped both hers and Yami's faces - hard.

"_Tojikomeru_! You are BOTH _bakas_! We have to get through this or we FAIL. And I'm not failing because of YOU TWO!" Hamano yelled.

The other two teams stared.

Akemi snorted and glared back at Hamano. "You don't scare me, you big-boned moron," she spat. Hamano took another step closer to Akemi, towering above her by a good five inches.

"Did you just call me _fat_?" she asked.

Akemi faltered for a moment. _Fat? I meant, well, just plain _big_ for a twelve-year-old... But who cares about hurting her feelings? _I_ sure don't!_ "As a matter of fact, I did," she said haughtily.

And was slapped again.

* * *

"This one's insane..." muttered Tokoro. "What on earth can change size, dance but can't hear, chase people, cause fear, be super slow but unavoidable, and has many names but only one name?" 

Kodomo blinked, then raised his hands over his head. "Ooh, ooh!" he whimpered. Then he pointed at the ground.

"Does he ever say anything?" asked Kaeri.

Aoiro sighed. "Just _make go boom_ so far."

Kodomo chuckled. "Make go boom!" he squealed before regaining his serious composure.

"M-Maybe Kodomo has the answer," said Tsurai. "Who knows h-how his mind works? M-Maybe he's some sort of supergenius."

Tokoro, however, couldn't help but notice the way that Kodomo was hopping up and down and pointing at the ground so urgently. It didn't look as though he ws trying to fool them - he sincerely wanted to tell them something.

The spiky brown-haired boy suddenly looked up at Akemi, who was still holding the stone, as a lightbulb almost visibly went off above his head.

"...What are you staring at?" asked Akemi uneasily.

Without answering, Kodomo grabbed the stone with the riddle from her hand - "Hey!" - and threw it up into the air. He then pointed with both hands at the ground, where the shadow of the rock was slowly getting smaller, then bigger as it fell back to earth.

Almost every one of the genin blinked with realization.

"I'VE GOT IT," screamed Akemi and Yami at the same time. "IT'S-"

"Kodomo look out!" Aoiro interrupted, shoving him out of the way as the rock tumbled towards his head.

Kodomo looked up, blinked, and thrust his hand into his pocket.

**BOOM.**

Tokoro coughed. Dust and dirt had suddenly clouded his field of vision. _What the hell just happened?_ he thought. He noticed that he was on the ground. _That's odd._ He stood up.

"Tsurai? Kaeri? Anyone?" he choked out. "Hey!"

No answer.

At least his thoughts were clearer now, and he realized that it must have been an explosion caused by Kodomo that made the dust.

From behind him he noticed a mumbling sound. He turned, the smoke now clearing a bit, to see Kodomo sitting cross-legged on the ground. "Make go boom, make go boom," he muttered.

"K-Kodomo?"

The younger boy looked up. "Ah! Make go boom!" he snorted, waving wildly. He didn't seem to have been affected at all, other than his now freshly-singed hair. Being around so many flames and blasts, he must have built up an incredibly strong immunity.

The dust was now clear enough so that some of the others were visible, although everyone had clearly been shaken by such a close explosion. Kaeri was on her knees, tending to Aeuri, who had clearly taken a bad hit. Aoiro was coughing hard. Akemi and Yami were screaming -

"SHADOW! THE ANSWER IS SHADOW!"

They glared at each other.

"I got it first!"

"No, I did!"

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm fifty times smarter than you are - which really isn't saying much, considering..."

"Shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"_Baka_!"

"_Henshu_!"

"SHUT UP!" yelled Hamano, slamming their heads together.

"He started it!"

"No, she started it!"

"YOU'RE ACTING LIKE FIVE YEAR OLDS!!!!" the tall girl roared, bashing their heads together again. "CAN'T YOU JUST GET ALONG FOR ONCE???"

The two were silent.

"God," she muttered, rubbing her temples.

By this time, all of the smoke had cleared, and everyone seemed to be fine. Which was good, Tokoro thought, but now we've got to figure out what the riddle means.

"Hey, everybody!" he yelled, but his voice was hoarse from the dust, and no one seemed to hear him.

"HEY!" he tried again. Same result.

"YO, LISTEN UP!!!"

Everyone stared at this sudden use of the word "Yo".

"Okay," he sighed. "I know that that explosion was a bit... unneccesary." He looked at Kodomo, who was grinning hugely. "But we've gotta figure out what it means. And it'll probably be best if we all work together. Any ideas?"

No one spoke.

"Fine, then," he said, exasperated. "How about everyone works with their own team, and when we get an answer, we can go off and follow that answer. Sound good?"

There was a smattering of agreement.

"Alright then."

Kaeri seemed to want to talk first. "Hey," she whispered once Tokoro was within earshot. "I know what we have to do. The shadow of the Hokage's office - see it? Well, it's only a few feet away from touching the Fifth's head. And she's in office right now. The Hokage? The shadow, get it? And when the shadow is covering her face, that's when we'll get our final riddle."

"Kaeri, that's brilliant!" exclaimed Tokoro. "What do you think, Tsurai?'

"I think it's a good p-plan," she whispered. "Let's do it."

When they got there, the shadow didn't look like it had moved at all.

"Now what?" muttered Tokoro under his breath. He hadn't meant for anyone to hear him, but apparently Kaeri did, because she responded.

"We wait," she replied, obviously annoyed at his sudden show of impatience.

But minutes passed, and rather than getting closer to the stone head, the shadow seemed to be shrinking away.

Tokoro began to get irrritated. _I don't want to hurt her feelings, but we're wasting our time. If nothing happens in the next minute or so, we're leaving._

He looked up at the sun, or as close to it as he could without burning his eyes. Something seemed odd, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

Sighing, he lowered his gaze and closed his eyes to get rid of the glare. After a few seconds his eyelids suddenly changed from red from the sun to black, as if there was no light at all.

He opened his eyes, startled. Kaeri and Tsurai were staring up into the sky in awe. Aeuri was yipping frantically, leaping onto her human companion. A thought occured to him. Dreading what he might find, he looked up at the sun.

It was completely obscured by the moon.

His fears were confirmed. "We were wrong," he whispered, almost unbelieving. "It didn't have anything to do with the Hokage, or any normal shadow. It had to do with the shadow of the moon. A solar eclipse."

Tsurai abruptly broke out of her reverie and spun around. "H-Hinote-sensei?!"

Tokoro turned around as well. It was their sensei. She was smirking. And she was holding both hands up, the red scroll in one and the blue scroll in the other.

"Time to choose."

* * *

LordXwee: Hee hee, my Internet's down, so Natsyourlord is typing what I say over supercool techno gear. Or telepathy. Or something. So yeah, I did almost no work on this chapter. Nice cliffhanger, Natsyourlord! 

Natsyourlord: (massively multitasking by drawing, typing, and using powers of telepathy) Thanks.

LordXwee: I just love Kodomo. He's so cool. Make go boom!

Natsyourlord: ...

LordXwee: Make go boom!

Natsyourlord: ...

LordXwee: MAKE GO-

Natsyourlord: Shut up I'm still drawing. Hmm, Akemi Chiasa looks a little overweight... but I don't care! Haha!

LordXwee: Okay... Well, we hoped you loved this chapter of WWTBAN! Now press that little purple review button and make us happy!

-Natsyourlord and LordXwee

PS: We used some Japanese in this chapter. In case you don't know what it means (which _isn't_ a bad thing), here are the translations:

_Baka _- Idiot

_Tojikomeru_ - Shut up

_Henshu_ - freak

If we forgot anything, sorry. That's all we caught. Thanks for reading!


	5. Hinote sensei

LordXwee: Hello and welcome. Sorry I couldn't work on this lately, but my internet is crappy.

Natsyourlord: Hmph. (draws)

LordXwee: Well, I'll work over Thanksgiving break so you don't kill me later.

Natsyourlord: Shut up and type. (throws pencil across two districts, over a river, and through a window so that it hits LordXwee's head.)

LordXwee: OW. Okay, okay. Geez. Anyway, some people seemed a little confused over what happened last chapter, so I'm gonna try to sum it up.

The test this year was to retrieve one of two scrolls from the sensei - one was blue and white, the other red and black. According to Hinote (foreshadowing), one scroll has the word "Pass" written on it, and the other has the word "Fail". Then Hinote vanished, leaving her squad to find their sensei's wherabouts. Tokoro, Tsurai, and Kaeri found and solved the first riddle leading to Hinote's location, which brought them to the First Hokage's stone memorial head. There they met two other squads. One consisted of Yami Kira, Akemi Chiasa, and Hamano Asuka, and the other contained Makoto Himura, Aoiro Kumo, and Kodomo Urusai. Together they solved the second riddle and each came to different conclusions as to what it meant. Each squad went to the location where they believed the riddle was indicating, Team Five's being the Fifth Hokage's stone head when the shadow of the Hokage Office building covered the face completely. But then a sudden twist of events occurs - a solar eclipse. And at the moment of the eclipse's occurrence, Hinote reappears, confirming that it is time for them to choose the right scroll - or return to the Academy.

That pretty much sums it all up. If you're still confused... well, please don't be, because Natsyourlord is about to crack.

Natsyyourlord: SHUT UP XWEE.

LordXwee: Hee hee... Hahaha.. Heh... I'm scared now. Anyway, just so you know we're going to begin throwing in some more characters. Right now we have just enough so that we can make a decent storyline, so it'll probably be a while before we ask for any more character submissions. If your character was submitted but has not yet been included in the story, PLEASE BE PATIENT. We're going to finish up the test and start an actual storyline this chapter, so make sure you all keep checking back! Thanks for reading, and we hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Fuu Chishio was noisily slurping a bowl of ramen at the Ichiraku when the eclipse occurred. Being the ten-year-old that he was, he didn't quite understand what was going on, so he turned to the brown-haired jounin who was eating next to him. "What happened to the sun?" he asked. 

The jounin turned and looked up at the sky. "Oh, crud..." he muttered. "I can't believe it's happening already..." He turned his attention to the black-haired man who was also eating at the bar. "Hey, buddy, can you explain the eclipse to the kid?" Without waiting for an answer, he leaped off his stool and charged out of the shop.

Fuu waited patiently, but the man seemed to be concerned with nothing but keeping his nose out of his ramen. Finally the boy couldn't stand waiting any longer. "Hey, uh, can you tell me what's happening outside?"

The man finally looked up. His eyes seemed to scan over Fuu, not quite seeing him, but rather, analyzing him.

"How old are you?" he asked at last.

"Ten."

"What are you wearing?"

The boy blinked and looked down at his clothing. His loose robes were covered with complex seals and kanji. "Um, seals. For warding off demons and stuff."

"There's no such thing as demons," the man chuckled.

"I know. But just in case."

The man laughed again. "I like you, kid. What's you're name?"

"...Fuu."

"Mine's... Rei. Nice to meet you, Fuu."

"Nice to meet you, too." Fuu looked back outside at the dark red hole in the sky that used to be the sun. "Can you tell me what's happening to the sun? The... exipse?"

"Eclipse," corrected Rei. "What basically happens is the moon... how do I put this... _floats_ directly into the space between the sun and the Earth so that the view of the sun is partially or completely blocked out from the Earth. That's called an eclipse."

"Oh." The green-eyed boy lifted his ramen bowl and swallowed another mouthful. "You're pretty smart, Rei. Are you a professor or something?"

Rei was silent for a moment before answering. "No... I sell ice cream. I'm thinking of opening up a permanent shop here in Konoha." Clearly not thinking that Fuu could hear him, he muttered under his breath, "Shoulda never joined up with Ereshkigal..."

"What was that?"

The big man flinched. "Oh - nothing."

"So you are a ninja?" Fuu asked him.

"...You might say that. Are you?"

The boy hesitated before answering. "I-I'm a gennin, so yes."

"I didn't notice your name being called at last week's ceremony... when did you graduate?"

"I graduated a while back... a really long time ago."

"Well, then, that makes sense."

Fuu was suddenly very uncomfortable. He looked into his bowl. There was still some more ramen, but he really didn't care. He wasn't hungry anymore.

Quickly he pulled out his brown leather wallet and emptied the money due into his palm. "Uh, here you go," he said, hastily giving it to the ramen shop owner. "Thanks."

"Where are you going?" yelled Rei, but the boy was already out of earshot.

He sprinted down the street, avoiding shinobi, children, and shoppers, before making a sharp turn into a dark alley that was completely empty, save for a brown tomcat and a few trash bins.

Panting heavily, he sank to his knees. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out the Raikougakure headband. "He almost found out..." he breathed, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

* * *

Hinote smirked as her three gennin stared at her in shock. "That's right," she said, sounding amused. "You guys have to choose your scroll... and get it from me." Pocketing the scrolls, she raised three fingers. "Three... two... one... Go." 

She charged at them. Tokoro and Kaeri dashed out of the way, but Tsurai didn't move. She seemed to be stunned, as her legs and feet were not moving. Her blue eyes stared unblinkingly at Hinote, following her every move, but other than that her body was completely motionless. Tokoro would not have been surprised if she fell over. "Tsurai, move!" he yelled.

The dark-haired girl turned her head slowly, staring at him as though he were an alien. Other than that, she didn't even twitch.

Their sensei skidded to a stop right in front of her, arms folded. "Aren't you going to move?" she asked. Tsurai's eyes flickered to Hinote before turning back to Tokoro.

A jolt of realization ran through him as he finally recognized the look in her eyes. Fear. Tsurai was afraid - but of what? She wasn't exactly strong, but tactful, and had great control of genjutsu. She should be able to tackle something as simple as escaping.

Hinote looked at Tokoro as well. "As you said before, Tokoro, this is a field exercise. And those who don't act in battle..." Her hand drew a kunai so quickly it looked as though it had appeared in her hand, as if by magic. "...Get hurt."

The next few seconds were a blur. Tokoro knew it was him who was racing towards Tsurai, he knew it was him who grappled her arms from their stiff position and wrapped them around his body, he knew it was him who pulled her out of the way. But still, it seemed as though it wasn't him - as though it was someone else.

Ducking into a crevasse in the upper part of the rock, Tokoro finally turned his attention to the pale-skinned girl in front of him. He was confused - why was she frozen up like this? It wasn't like her at all. Sure, she stuttered a lot, but he knew from experience that she simply didn't like talking around people she didn't know very well. She wasn't weak or timid at all. Getting unnerved, he seized her by the shoulders and shook her violently. She finally jerked out of her strange trance. Blinking rapidly, she stared at him. "W-What just happened?" she whispered. "I... felt funny... and then-"

"There's no time," Tokoro hissed urgently cutting her off. "We have to get the scroll. And Hinote is serious - she almost stabbed you."

He stood and looked around. Why wasn't Hinote coming after them?

Hesitantly, he peered over the side of the crevasse and stared at what was happening.

Kaeri was standing stockily in front of Hinote. "You're insane!" she screamed. "You were going to stab Tsurai! All over a stupid test! You - you - you're a psychopath!"

Hinote stared calmly back, meeting her pupil's furious gaze. "Well, it seemed to have stimulated your anger well enough. Look at you - you're shaking."

Kaeri was indeed trembling, but she didn't seem to take any notice. "Anger, my butt," she snarled. "You think I can't do anything to you? Hmph!" She pressed her hands together in a seal, then let out a loud war whoop and began chanting. "Tori! Nezumi! Tora! Usagi! Tori! Saru!" she formed each hand sign as she called its name. "Man-and-Beast Transformation!"

A thick cloud of violet smoke shrouded Kaeri and Aeuri. When it finally cleared, both of them looked... different. Kaeri was snarling, her eyes glinting a horrible black color, and her teeth - especially her canines - looked longer. The wolf tattoos on her forearms had enlarged, extending down to her wrists. and her fingernails seemed to have lengthened. They now resembled wolf-like claws. Aeuri, too, looked different. Her silvery fur had streaks of gold running through it, and she was definitely larger than before - prominent muscles flexed under the skin, and now the top of her head nearly reached Kaeri's shoulder.

Hinote stood, not even blinking, as they both let out a simutaneous howl that was neither beast nor human. Then the two charged.

At the very last moment, Hinote pressed her hands together in different hand seals. "Ryu! Uma! Tora! O-Ushi! Karada Enkou - Bodily Inferno!"

Kaeri and Aeuri skidded, trying to avoid slamming into their burning sensei. Unfortunately Kaeri had a bit more momentum - she twisted, but one of the flames surrounding Hinote leaped out and struck her back, burning her. She jumped away, trying to figure out how to attack without making contact with her sensei through the stinging pain. Hinote simply stood, a bored expression on her face.

Suddenly the flames began to die down, finally stopping at the exact center of the Kazuki Clan insignia on her shirt. Kaeri blinked, realizing her chance. Rushing forth at rapidly increasing speed, she managed to slice a shallow gash into Hinote's arm before the jounin bounded away. She didn't seem to wince, though but rather, she... smiled.

"I see you mean business," Hinote smirked, pressing her hands together. "But you're way in over your head. Ryu! Tora! Tori!" She formed the hand seals. Kaeri stood poised, ready to attack or defend.

Nothing happened.

Kaeri eyed her sensei suspiciously, but didn't see anything that looked as though it could even remotely hurt her. Just to be safe, though, she whipped some shuriken from her weaponry pouch and flung them at Hinote. As she was leaping aside, Kaeri gave Aeuri the order to charge. But as soon as the wolf was within range, Hinote disappeared. Kaeri blinked.

"Kakigenkotsu! Fist of Fire!" came in the form of a yell from directly behind her. Realizing her mistake too late, she attempted to dodge the attack - but it was too late. Hinote pressed her palm against the already-burned patch of skin on Kaeri's back. She screamed horribly and leaped away, tears glistening on her cheeks. Aeuri snarled menacingly at Hinote, but didn't move from the side of her injured companion.

"Tokoro," whispered Tsurai from beside him. He jumped. He had been so absorbed in watching the fight that he had almost forgotten where he was.

"Y-Yeah?"

"We have to help Kaeri! She's hurt - I don't think she can hold up much longer!"

He nodded. "Right, let's go." They scrambled out of the crevasse together and dashed in between their sensei and their burned teammate.

"Oh, look," grinned Hinote. "It's the two little chic-chic-chickens coming out from hiding! Coming to pour some water on the burned puppy?"

Tokoro twitched. "Actually, that's exactly what we've come to do." To Tsurai, he whispered, "You have burn medication, right? Use some of that to treat Kaeri, then come and help me."

She nodded. Tokoro then turned to Hinote. "You want a fight?" he asked. "Fight me."

The red-haired jounin chuckled. The red-haired jounin chuckled. "Oh, alright. I was waiting for you, anyway." She pulled out a kunai. "Son of a tracker - you're likely to know some interesting moves." With that, she threw the knife at the boy.

He ducked and the kunai whistled over his head. Then he leaped up to a higher point on the rock. _From here I can see her better - it's much harder to move quickly when you're going up, so I'll have enough time to dodge if she follows me. _He tore five shuriken from his weapons pouch and threw four of them at Hinote. As predicted, she jumped to the left, and while she was in the air he threw the last one.

The jounin winced as the shuriken embedded itself just above her left knee. Grimacing, she pulled it out, blood dripping from it. "Ouchies," she said, "That kinda stung."

She pressed her hands together in the seal of _Tora_. "But I can make you do more than sting," she whispered, her voice eerily low. "I can make you _burn._"

Her hands began to move in a flurry, so fast that he could barely make out the hand signs as she made them. "Hinotama-no-Jutsu! Art of the Fireball!" She pressed her index and middle fingers to her lower lip, inhaled deeply, and released a barrage of fireballs as big as grapefruits from her mouth.

Tokoro attempted to dodge the fireballs, but one of them got close enough to his face so that a searing wave heat passed over him. Groaning in pain, he fell forward onto his knees. _I can't show weakness, _he thought, _I have to fight back! But because my specialty is wind-style techniques and hers are fire-style, mine have a natural weakness. And I can't attack with genjutsu - I'm horrible with it. So that just leaves taijutsu..._

Decided, he jumped down from the rock and landed, level with Hinote.

"So you're coming out of hiding. Do you really think that that's the best course of action?" she asked with a smirk.

"Actually, yes," he replied. "That's exactly what I think." With that, he dashed towards her.

The closer he got, he noted, the wider her grin seemed to get. He knew that she would probably use another Bodily Inferno Technique when he got close enough. _Well, I just won't get close enough._

When he was just about within arm's reach, he used all of his speed and darted around so that he was behind her, too fast to see. He knew he only had about a second, so he acted quickly. Drawing a kunai from its holster on his right leg, he jumped up onto his sensei's back (much to her surprise) and jabbed the knife into her shoulder. She screamed in pain. Before she could do anything else, though, he was already off her back and standing in front of her, arms folded. Hinote's fingers twitched, but other than that her right arm hung completely limp.

"You can't move your arm, can you?" he asked cockily. "That's because I sliced through the ligament connecting the muscles to your shoulder. It'll take eight to ten weeks to heal on its own."

Her lips spread slowly into a savage grin. "You're a smart little boy," she hissed. "But you're going to end up the same as your little wolf friend - and same with you." She lifted a finger and pointed it past Tokoro, over his shoulder.

He turned his head and saw Tsurai, clutching a slip of paper tightly in her hand. Her eyes widened for some reason when he turned, but she didn't say anything other than "Look at this when you get the chance. I'll hold off Hinote for a few minutes."

He nodded and took the paper, dashing off to where Kaeri was - in the same crevasse where he and Tsurai had originally taken refuge.

Kaeri was looking like her original self again, though there was a hole burned in the back of her black jumpsuit. A red sheen had taken to the skin on her back, and it had begun to blister as well. The girl appeared unconscious, though Aeuri was curled up next to her, whimpering.

After a few minutes, he finally forced himself to look away from his injured teammate, he glanced down at the paper. Written in red ink, it read,

**Riddle Number 3:**

**True or False**

**Statement One: Statement Two is true.**

**Statement Two: Statement One is false.**

Tokoro stared at it, reading it over. "Assuming that the first Statement is true, then Statement Two would have to be true as well. But if Statement Two is true, then Statement One is false. But if Statement One is false, then Statement Two is false. But if Statement Two is false, then Statement One is... this is impossible." He groaned and threw the paper at the ground.

Then he blinked.

"Wait a minute." A hysterical smile erupted across his face. "There's no correct answer. There's no correct answer to this riddle, and there's no correct answer to _our_ riddle, either! There's no correct answer, there's no correct answer, there's no correct answer, THERE'S NO CORRECT ANSWER!!!" Giggling madly, he leaped back out of the crevasse and ran towards Tsurai. "Tsurai! I know the answer! I know what we have to do! I-" he stopped.

The girl was on her knees, her dark hair falling ominously into her face. A gash was drawn, starting around her lower back and twisting around her arm and finally stopping at about her shoulderblade. Blood pooled around her body, staining her skin and clothes. Her hands were pressed together in the_ Rei_ seal, red blood dripping from her fingers. Her eyes stared, unseeing, ahead, where a thick purple mist shrouded the area about ten meters ahead of her.

Gently, unbelievingly, Tokoro reached out towards her body. Her skin was so pale...

"Tokoro?"

He looked up, surprised and shocked. There on a high point of the rock, was Tsurai Aikou, alive and well, a smile playing on the edges of her lips.

"Did you... did you get fooled by my genjutsu?"

Eyes widening rapidly, he whipped his head back around at the collapsed Tsurai figure. Stretching a hand out, he tried to touch the shoulder. His hand sunk right through, as though it wasn't even there.

"Tsurai, that's... that's incredible! It looks so real - when did you learn that?"

Her smile widened. "G-Genjutsu is my specialty," she said, her face turning a little pink. "You can't touch the illusion unless the jutsu is being performed on you, but... did you really think it was good?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Hey, wait a sec - where's Hinote?"

"S-She's in that m-mist there," she said, pointing. "Another g-g-genjutsu."

Tokoro blinked. "Hey, you weren't stuttering! For a while, there!" Tsurai's face turned pinker. "No - I liked it. You can hear your voice better when you don't stutter."

Of course, at this, the girl went positively red. "Th-thanks... I mean, thanks."

He then turned back to the mist. "Hey - can you release the genjutsu? I know what we have to do - but to do it, we have to talk to Hinote."

Tsurai nodded and made the seal for _Kai_. "Release," she muttered under her breath.

Out of the mist stumbled Hinote, sporting a star-shaped cut across her face and looking dazed. She stared for a moment at the two genin before collapsing and vomiting.

"What did you do...?" whispered Tokoro, staring at their sensei, who was shaking.

Tsurai looked stricken. "Do you think that a thousand senbon impaling her body was too much?"

He blinked. "Impaling Death? That's top-level genjutsu! That's - that's incredible! When did you learn to-" He froze midsentence as Hinote gripped his wrist drunkenly.

"You said you had the answer," she whispered slowly. "What's the answer, boy? _What's the answer_?"

Tokoro shook her hand off. "The... the answer? It's that..." he remembered. "It's that there is no answer. The third riddle is impossible to solve, and therefore, there's no correct scroll. By proccess of elimination, the most probable solution is that they both say the same thing - either pass or fail."

Hinote stared at him for a minute, then pulled the scrolls out of her pocket. "If you're so sure, then open them," she said. "Both of you. At the same time. And if you're wrong, you go back... _all the way to the beginning class._" She gave Tokoro the blue-and-white scroll, and Tsurai the red-and-black scroll.

Gulping but nodding to Tsurai, he slipped his finger under the seal, breaking it. "Three, two, one," he counted. "Open!" Both scrolls made a crackling sound as they quickly unraveled.

**Fail.**

**Fail.**

"Ha," said Tokoro, relieved. He shook the scroll. "I was right."

"Heh heh..." muttered Hinote. "I guess you..."

POOF.

Hinote vanished in a puff of smoke.

"PASS!" came the redhead's yell from up by the crevasse. Tokoro and Tsurai both spun around, shocked.

Hinote stood there, a gash on her forearm from Kaeri but otherwise completely unmarked from the battle. Kaeri was on her back, backpack-style, and still unconscious. "You guys did really well, all of you!"

"What the..." muttered Tokoro. "WHAT THE HELL??"

Tsurai and Hinote blinked.

"THAT WASN'T YOU? THEN WHAT JUST HAPPENED? WHO DID I FIGHT? WHO DID TSURAI FIGHT? WHO WAS IT??" he yelled. He was confused, something that Tokoro Seiryoku definitely didn't like. None of this seemed to add up.

Hinote grinned sheepishly. "It was part of the test, Tokoro. Don't get so worked up. I had to fool you a bit to get you fighting like you were in a real battle - and see how well you all reacted to provocation. After Kaeri scratched me, I made a shadow clone. This way you would know that it was me when the test was over. Using enough chakra, I can sustain the shadow clone through injury. It's a bit of a strain, though."

Toroko gaped at her, still very confused. "So Tsurai and I were fighting a clone? The whole time?"

"How do we know you're not lying about this whole thing?" added Tsurai, her eyes narrowing.

"If I was lying, how did I go from tossing my cookies to standing perfectly upright in front of you?"

She couldn't answer.

"Exactly," Hinote finished, folding her arms as best she could while keeping Kaeri supported.

"But we do pass, right?" propted Tokoro.

"Yes," the jounin replied, "And, quite frankly, you all have amazing talents. Toroko, your tactical planning and psychoanalyzation of battle is amazing. Tsurai, your genjustu is very powerful. Kaeri here fought very well with her little wolf cub. With all your skills together in one team, there's no way you couldn't pass."

"B-but Kaeri will be okay, right? It looked like she got pretty hurt." Tsurai said, looking concerned for her teammate.

Hinote nodded, "Of course. I'm a medical-nin." She came down to where the two Genin stood, placing Kaeri carefully on the ground. Resting her hand delicately on the burned patch of skin, green chakra emnated from her gloved hand. Toroko and Tsurai stared as Kaeri's skin faded back to its normal color and the blisters peeled away. After a moment, Hinote pulled her hand away. The skin had changed to a bright pink, lost its sheen, and most of the dead skin had flaked off. Kaeri twisted a little, but didn't wake up. "She'll be fine. She's just tired."

"I can take her home," said Tsurai. "My father was present at the graduation ceremony - he knows who she is, so he won't mind if she has to stay overnight."

"Okay," Tokoro said, hoisting the golden-haired girl onto his back. "I'll carry her - you're probably exhausted. Plus my sister doesn't get out of school 'till later."

"Well," smiled Hinote, looking at the young genin in front of her, "You're my new team."

* * *

LordXwee: Yay! We finished a chapter! 

Natsyourlord: Mostly I did.

LordXwee: Well you said it's illegal for me to write battle scenes like it's illegal for Empress Hockee to draw!

Natsyourlord: True.

LordXwee: At least I did some work this time. Plus also this chapter got super long, so we had to end it there rather than show the other team's fights. They'll show up later, in flashbacks.

Natsyourlord: Anyways, just so everyone knows, the current main characters are Team Five. But after one or two more chapters, we'll change the main characters for a little, and hopefully introduce the main plot.

LordXwee: Woo! Main plot!

Natsyourlord: Yes, we do actually have a plot in mind. Oh, and I've finished Team Eight's drawings, so they'll be posted to the PhotoBucket account _Ashi(underscore)Shukuns_ as soon as possible. In the meantime, try to keep yourselves amused with... other things.

LordXwee: Like Kodomo! Gasp! He wasn't in the chapter! MAKE GO BOOM!

Natsyourlord: _Baka_. Will you wrap this up already? It's your job.

LordXwee: Oh. Oh yes. Thank you for reading this chapter of WWTBAN, look forward to the next chapter (eventually), and press that review button!!!

-Natyourlord & LordXwee


	6. Ereshkigal

LordXwee: CHA! Main plot chapter! OH YEAH!!!

Natsyourlord: No, not yet. Well, sorta. It's in this chapter that we're going to try to describe to our beloved readers, aka you, exactly where we are in the storyline. We're also going to try and include about half the characters that we should have included a long, long time ago, just so everyone knows we haven't forgotten them. This is your Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/etc. present, by the way, so you'd better appreciate it.

LordXwee: That was a lot for you to say in one setting.

Natsyourlord: Yeah, I guess.

LordXwee: Anywhosie, we really are trying to include all the characters at least once before we start accepting submissions again. We keep getting new ones, which is the frustrating thing, though. We already have enough for now. More than enough. A surplus. Yay for big vocabularies!!

Natsyourlord: -slaps LordXwee-

LordXwee: OW!

Natsyourlord: Hee hee.

LordXwee: Okays, so here's the next chapter of Who Wants To Be A Ninja! Don't eat us!

* * *

"Celebrating the announcement of the seventh Hokage, the Rokudaime, here's to Naruto Uzumaki!"

A great cheer erupted throughout the crowd. Shrieking loudly, Akemi bounced excitedly in her kimono next to Hamano, who had reluctantly agreed to come with her to the festival. It was a week after they had passed the test, and she and Hamano were getting on a bit better. Yami though... well, he was a jerk, as always. She could care less if he showed up.

Hamano looked surprisingly pretty clad in the green kimono that Akemi had chosen for her, though she had refused anything to be done with her hair. As it was, though, she had removed her bandana-style headband, and with the garment hugging her body she looked extraordinarily feminine - for Hamano, anyway. There was no way anyone would mistake her for a boy, even with her short hair and annoyed look. Of course, the shadows of evening added to that a little, but still.

"Why are you jumping?" the tall girl sighed. "We can see him from here. And he looks pret-ty normal to me."

"But he's the Hokage!" exclaimed Akemi, shocked that anyone could say such a thing. "He's drop-dead gorgeous, too, even if he's something like twenty years old... and he has a girlfriend, too. Hyuuga Hanata or something."

"Hinata," Hamano corrected. "And he's just nineteen. Not much older than we are. Come on, let's go to the festival already."

"Why?"

"We've been standing here looking at a blond teenager in an orange jumpsuit for the past half-hour. It's the best part, anyway, the festival. Food and games... that's where the real fun is, not idolizing Naruto Uzumaki."

Groaning, Akemi finally gave in and dragged her gaze away from the blonde boy grinning wildly at the crowd.

* * *

"Make go boom!" yelled Kodomo, pointing at a booth with a game involving knocking down three bottles, stacked on each other, with a baseball.

Makoto, who had met up with the boy there, moaned. "Okay, Kodomo. But then we get some grub."

Kodomo nodded enthusiastically. "Make go boom!"

The two of them walked over to the booth. The man standing behind it grinned knowingly as he saw them approach. "Wanna give this game a try?"

"How much," sighed Makoto.

"Wha? Oh, I didn't see ya there, kid. Three hundred."

"Yen? That's kind of expensive," Makoto said, trying to ignore the fact that this man, like just about everyone else, hadn't noticed them(it, he, she, whatever). Kodomo fished around in the pocket of his explosively damaged robe for the money.

"Yeah, but if ya win, ya get yer choice of prize." The man motioned behind him, where there was a large assortment of iPods, MP3 Players, digital cameras, and other expensive looking electronics. Kodomo slammed the money down on the counter, and the man handed him three baseballs.

"You must be pretty sure of yourselves."

"Yeah, well, we just want to give people a good reason to spend their money," said the man.

"I see."

Kodomo wound back and threw the ball. It flew in a straight line, hitting the bottles dead-center. They wobbled but didn't fall.

"It's okay, buddy. Ya still have two more chances, and ya can also spend some more cash, if ya want." The man shrugged. Kodomo threw the second ball, with the same result.

On the final throw, Kodomo held the ball for a few seconds. Then he fastened his grip and wound back.

"Make go boom," he mumbled, and threw.

**BOOM.**

When the smoke cleared, all three of the bottles had not only been knocked down, but also there were cracks in the plastic, showing through to something shiny inside.

"What did you _do_?!" yelled the man. Several people had stopped to see what was going on.

"Excuse me," Makoto said, "But what is _that_ in the bottles?"

The man gulped. "Uh, it's, uh, it's nothing! You don't have to concern yourselves with that."

Makoto smiled. "If those are lead weights, sir, I believe that it means you have been cheating these people out of their money. With all due respect, I think the new Hokage would be pleased to give his first order to a cheater and a liar."

The man started to sweat. "O-Okay! Okay! What do you want? I'll give you anything!"

Makoto smiled. "Well, what would you like, Kodomo?"

Kodomo grinned. "Make go boom."

"I'm going to interpret that as 'I want you to give us each the prize of our choice from that assortment, because I _do _believe I knocked down all the bottles. Then I want you to shut down your stand and leave the festival.'"

Kodomo nodded.

The man, agreeing, pulled an iPod and a camera off the rack and handed it to them. Then he turned back around and began storing things away.

"Wow," said a boy in robes with kanji all over them. "That was cool."

"Thanks," said Makoto, steering Kodomo away from the stall, as people were staring.

* * *

"Hey," said Yami to a girl of about thirteen with cropped brown hair. "Can I get you something to drink? A soda, maybe?"

She stared at him, eyes narrowed.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry. I'm tall, but I'm really just thirteen. I'm not, you know, perverted or anything. Really, I swear."

The girl continued to glare at him.

"So, uh, what's your name?"

She pulled a pen out of her violet kimono and scribbled on a napkin, _Aiko._

"Hi, Aiko. I'm Yami. Why are you writing instead of speaking?"

_Cause I feel like it._

"Oh. Well, do you want something to drink?"

_Go away. Stalker._

"Geez," he muttered. "So pessimistic." He shoved his hands in his pockets and stalked away from the food bar he'd been standing at. All the girls in this village were either annoyingly fangirl-like or annoyingly Akemi-like. How irritating.

Quickly, though, he spotted another girl, this one with honey-colored hair, aqua-blue eyes, and glasses. "What's up?" he asked.

The girl sighed. "Nothing."

"So what's your name?" he asked, trying to be conversational.

"Kat. And you?"

"Yami. Yami Kira."

"Ooh, dark." she giggled a little. "Your last name means killer - do you live up to that?"

"Hence, the tattoo," he grinned.

She nodded, grinning as well. "So, are you a ninja?"

"Yeah, I'm a genin. What about you?"

"Chuunin."

"Ah. Cool." He cocked his head. "Do _you_ want something to drink?"

"Sure." She smiled flirtatiously. "Actually, I would love that."

* * *

A girl with long brown hair by the name of Achitaka Skittle leaned on her elbows against the rail of a bridge. Tonight was her sixteenth birthday, and for the life of her, she couldn't understand why the Rokudaime just _had_ to become Rokudaime. Today. On her birthday.

She wasn't selfish, but she did enjoy attention, and today she had been expecting a lot of it. Instead, everyone was obsessing over the _Hokage_ and how_ cute_ and _talented_ he was. It made her sick. She hadn't even bothered to change for the festivities, and was still wearing her usual white shirt, halting just above her bellybutton, green shorts, and fishnet stockings.

"Are you alright?"

A boy, about eighteen years old, had suddenly appeared at the other end of the bridge. From what she could see in the darkness, he had long black hair and strangely-shaped eyes. His red robe bulged at odd angles, as though there was something underneath.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," she muttered, turning away.

"You don't look fine. You look troubled." The boy took a step closer. Feeling a little nervous - she didn't even know this guy - she drew a kunai. "I'm a jounin. Come any closer and you're dead."

An amused smile played around the edges of the boy's lips. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. But if it makes you feel any better, I'll stay over here."

"Good," Achitaka said, keeping the kunai in her hand, but relaxing her stance a little. If he decided to come any closer, she could easily use her necklace to freeze the world for a moment and escape. The necklace she wore had special properties - it could control time, along with a lot of chakra from Achitaka.

"Do you mind if I play my flute?"

She stared at him suspiciously. "Why?"

"Well," he said, pulling out the instrument, a little wooden pipe, from the case on his back, "I have... something to do tonight, at the festival, and it's not time yet. So I'm bored. Plus you looked kind of lonely over here, so I thought you might like some company."

"Whatever," she sighed. Secretly, though, she was glad that someone had noticed her. It was nice, having this strange boy here, talking to her.

He played a few notes. "Do you have any preference?" he asked.

"No, not really. Play whatever you want."

"Okay, then I'll need to know your name."

She blinked. "It's... Achitaka."

"Achitaka? My name's Kijin."

And then he pressed the flute to his mouth and blew, and it was truly a fantastic sound - the music weaving mysteriously through the air, seeming to swell and wash over her. The way his fingers moved were magical - that was the only way to describe it. It was as though his fingers flew up and down the pipe, slipping easily over the rough wood, and creating such a sound that seemed to come right from his very soul.

And finally, the song ended, and Achitaka found herself staring at him in awe.

"Th-that was... incredible."

He grinned. "Thanks. I'm really good on the guitar, though. Flute is just a side instrument."

"I'd like to hear you play on the guitar sometime."

"I'd like to play for you sometime."

A crackling sound came from Kijin's pocket, interrupting the conversation. Pulling out a walkie-talkie, he said into it, "Yagami checking in from Point D."

A man's voice came through the little black machine. _"Kin speaking. We've closed the perimeter. All units meet at Point A."_

"Copy that." Pushing the walkie-talkie back into his pocket, he smiled apologetically at Achitaka. "Sorry, I gotta go. Maybe I'll see you around."

"I'll look for you at the festival," she said, happy that someone was interested in what she was doing tonight.

Kijin shook his head. "Don't bother. You won't find me."

"What do you mean?" she called, but he was already gone.

* * *

"Come on, Hamano," sighed Akemi, ducking in between game stalls to avoid the crowds. "You _really _don't need any more prizes."

Hamano grinned. In her arms she carried two large stuffed bears, a rubber ball the size of a pumpkin, two cheap plastic rings, a travel deck of cards, and a package of washable tattoos. "Are you sure you aren't going to help me out?"

"Yes," the blond growled, folding her arms.

Suddenly from behind the next booth, she heard the sound of giggling, followed by an all-too-familiar voice.

"Hold up a sec, Hamano," Akemi mumbled, but apparently she had heard it, too. Both girls pressed their bodies flat against the booth, and as silently as they could, they inched their way over until they could see what was going on. Needless to say, Akemi was _very _pleased at what she found.

"Well, well," she said, smirking hugely. "Do my eyes decieve me? Yami Kira, I didn't even know you knew what _make-out_ meant!"

Yami whipped around, his eyes burning. "Akemi, get the hell out of here. I'm kinda, you know, busy." From behind him, Kat raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"I can see that, Yami." She was enjoying this way too much. "And I am _very_ disappointed. I'm serious. This is no way to treat your girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?!" yelled Yami. "I-I swear, she's not-"

"Save it, Kira," said Akemi, poking him in the chest. "We are _so_ breaking up."

"But we were never together!" he exclaimed, turning back to Kat. "Really, I-"

"I've heard enough," hissed Kat through gritted teeth. "I bet you're not even really sixteen."

"He's not," grinned Akemi, "He's thirteen."

Kat's jaw dropped at this. She glared at him, delivered a swift kick to his shin, and stormed away.

"Dammit, Chiasa," muttered Yami once the girl was out of earshot, "Why did you have to do that?"

"Language," said Hamano absently, trying to balance her huge stash of prizes.

"It was fun. I can do whatever the hell I want, Kira."

"Language."

"Why do you always have to ruin everything I do? I just wanted one night without you, my annoying teammate, there annoying me every step of the way!"

"It's payback for everything you do to me!"

"Like what?"

"Like teasing me about my damn height!"

"Language."

"At least I'm not a lying bitch!"

"OI! _Language!_"

"At least I don't hook up with people... hooker-upper... HOOKER."

"Langu- wait. I don't have to deal with this. We're not on a mission. You guys are on your own." Hamano staggered away, leaving Yami and Akemi behind, screaming intricate curses at each other.

* * *

"Kin?"

A tall man with long, silver hair turned around at the call of his name. "I seen you've made it, Misasushi," he said, addressing the girl who had called him, one with long black hair tucked into her slightly bulging kimono. "Where are the other two?"

Her red eyes flickered around the area. "I don't know. They probably got distracted... especially Yagami. Stupid musician."

"No I didn't," frowned the said boy, emerging from the bushes with flute in hand. "I was at my post. Only one girl, and I took care of her. She wasn't a problem."

Kin's eyes flashed. "Fool! You weren't supposed to kill anyone! This is an infiltration mission, which means we're trying to keep quiet!"

"I didn't kill her," muttered Yagami. "I just played my flute. She's fine, and more importantly, she doesn't suspect a thing." He pocketed the instrument. "So shut your trap, Kin."

The man snarled, but continued. "I did not see any threats. It's the-"

"-special mission for jounins," Kari Ucheki, the last of the group, said as she arrived on the scene. "I've learned. We're pretty much in the clear and can go ahead with the investigation."

"We waited long enough for you," muttered Yagami, folding his arms. Ucheki glared at him.

"We weren't supposed to talk to anyone," Misasushi responded. "Again, this is an infiltration mission, Yagami, get it through your thick skull."

"Hinatori will kill us all if you expose our intent, and you're not helping by squabbling like children!" Kin whispered fiercely. "Alright, now, the important government figures will more than likely be near the boy. He may very well have the two remaining Sannin near him... and my guess is that his assistant would be that goggled-boy... He'll also likely have the Haruno near him."

"Haruno..." growled Misasushi. "The wretched little brat will pay for what she-"

FWING.

Kari stood behind Kin, a kunai in her hand and another laying on the dirt road. A tall man with short brown hair, obviously ANBU from the way he was dressed, stood in the middle of the road, clutching a sword. It had a rather short blade - one could almost call it a dagger.

"What was that about the Hokage?" he asked, pointing the tip at Kin menacingly.

Ucheki smirked. "Go ahead. I can take care of him."

"Make it quick, Ucheki," muttered Misasushi, disappearing with the others. The black-haired girl nodded, spun the kunai around in her hand, and with a grin sliced right through the kimono.

It fell away to reveal the black cloak she wore underneath, decorated with a sun and a moon interlocked on the left side of her chest. The sun was a silver color, as was the belt and trim of the cloak, while the moon was black.

The ANBU, named Chou, gripped his sword tighter and drew back. "I won't let you get anywhere near the Hokage!" he yelled. Charging at Ucheki, he whipped his blade in skillful arcs, slicing through the air without so much as a _swoosh_. But before he could get within a few yards of Ucheki, she vanished.

"What?" gasped Chou, looking around frantically. He was fast - all ANBU were fast - but this was insanity. No one could just vanish like that.

"Behind you," came a voice. Something struck Chou's back, hard. He went flying into a wall, where he collapsed.

"Ryu, O-Ushi, Tora... Hitobito Kairai, Human Puppet." Her voice was completely calm. Ten strings of chakra shot out of her fingertips, attaching themselves to various points on his arms, legs, head, and stomach. "This is almost to easy," she chuckled. She wriggled the fingers on her right hand, and Chou felt himself moving uncontrollaby.

Gritting his teeth, he spat, "You're going to kill me, aren't you? Then at least tell me what you want with the Hokage!"

Ucheki snorted. "I don't want anything to do with him. I mean, if we wanted to cause him harm, that'd take all the fun out of it. But, of course, that's what Ereshkigal is all about. Having fun."

"W-What are you talking about? What's Ereshkigal?"

Ucheki sighed. "I'm getting bored with this conversation already. You're not a very interesting man, are you?" Her fingers began moving again, and Chou felt his own hands lifting to his mask.

"What's this?" the girl said mockingly, staring at his hands as they pulled away the mask, revealing his blue eyes and brown hair. "You're missing some fingers?"

Chou was indeed missing a few fingers - the middle, ring, and little fingers on his left hand - but he kept his face expressionless. "Y'know," said Ucheki, "If you had ten fingers, you might be kinda cute. You know, for an old man."

Chou twitched.

"Ah, well." She sighed, and began to move her fingers in intricate patterns, forcing Chou to dance like a marionette. "I have to kill you now, anyway. Too bad. If you had more fingers and weren't so... you know, _weak_, maybe you could hav joined Ereshkigal." With that, she moved Chou's arm up, pointing his sword directly at his heart.

"Wait!" he yelled, "D-Don't kill me yet! Just tell me - what is Ereshkigal?"

Ucheki sighed. "Fine, you old coot, I'll tell you. It's an organization made up of some of the most powerful missing shinobi in the world, myself included." She grinned. "Of course, that won't matter, where you're going." Malice twinkling in her eyes, she forced Chou to stab his own heart.

"I love this game, don't you?" the girl asked playfully, dispelling the jutsu as Chou fell forward, blood spilling from the wound. "It's so fun. Fun, fun, fun." She giggled. "Oh, well. Bye-bye, old coot." Forming a seal, she vanished in search of her companions, leaving the ANBU to die.

* * *

Tashina Adamie turned into an alleyway, searching for the kid who was currently making her life hell - Chiisai Hiromoto. The kid had escaped from her bodyguard/nanny yet again, and of course, _he_ couldn't find the kid, so they just _had_ to send a Chuunin, aka herself, to go find the girl. Honestly, the stupid bodyguard's a ninja, too, you know!

Sighing, Tashina pushed her long blonde hair behind her ears and scanned the alleyway. There were lots of boxes and garbage cans casting strange shadows on the walls, and the fact that it was evening didn't help at all. Fortunately, Tashina didn't sense andy chakras coming from the alley, so she ran to the next one.

This one looked the same, and she was about to leave and check another area when she heard someone - a child - scream in shock. Immediately Tashina went into battle mode - her blue eyes narrowed, and she sprung over the boxes towards the sound of the voice. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

Chiisai was standing above a man - ANBU by his clothing - who was lying in a pool of crimson blood. His brown hair was soaked, and his eyes were dull. However, his chest was still heaving, and his eyes darted to Tashina, who flinched.

"C-C-Come h-here..." he whispered. The blonde-haired Chuunin couldn't move, however, she was stunned. How did this happen? The Hiromoto girl was a gennin, having graduated a year ago, but she wasn't very strong at all. There was no way she could have fatally injured an ANBU.

"I said," hissed the man, reaching towards her, "C-Come HERE." His hand snatched her kimono front, jerking her down to his face. She noted in the back of her mind that the hand that had grabbed her was missing three fingers.

"The... the w-woman who d-d-did this..." he mumbled. Whenever he opened his mouth, blood dripped from his lips. "She... she was a m-member of... of Ereshkigal... g-getting to Hokage... save him... p-please..." Trembling, he collapsed, where he lay unmoving. His hold on her kimono slackened.

Shakily, Tashina pulled the hand from her shirt and pressed two fingers to his wrist. There was no pulse. "He's dead," she whispered. Chiisai made a strange choking sound, and Tashina realized that this was probably the first time the girl had seen death.

"We have to warn the Hokage," she said, rising. The man's hand fell onto the ground painfully. Chiisai couldn't seem to stop staring at him.

"Come on!" Tashina said again, grabbing Chiisai's wrist. Seemingly awaking from her trance, the girl stumbled after.

* * *

LordXwee: Dun dun duuuun! Evil cliffhangers, Natsyourlord! We are evil! Tee hee!

Natsyourlord: More like, you're evil and I'm just smart.

LordXwee: Yup! Tee hee! Kodomo was COOL in this chapter! Yeah, Kodomo!

Natsyourlord: Kodomo played a very minor role in this particular chapter of our story.

LordXwee: Who cares? He was still cool! Make go boom!

Natsyourlord: ...Yeah.

LordXwee: Anyway, our apologies to Silverhairedlightning for killing off Chou, to LinksofShinobichain for changing Kin from a chuunin to a member of Ereshkigal, andto everyone who has so far submitted characters but hasn't been included, even minorly. We really are trying. Oh - and once we can get Natsyourlord's scanner to work, we'll upload the pictures. They look reeeeally awesome. Except, as Natsyourlord said before, Akemi looks kinda fat.

Natsyourlord: Oh, well, they're chibis. Chibis are supposed to look cute and cuddly and slightly overweight, so I say... oh, well!

LordXwee: OMG you ended a sentence with an exclamation point!

Natsyourlord: No I didn't.

LordXwee: Wow, we're really rambling now.

Natsyourlord: Yes we are.

LordXwee: Well, we hope to see everyone for the next chapter, and have a happy holiday!

Natsyourlord: And a very happy new year.

-Natsyourlord and LordXwee


	7. Move out!

Natsyourlord: Wow, that was a lot of feedback.

LordXwee: Yup! 89 reviews at the point of time that we're typing this!

Natsyourlord: But who knows how many there are at the time that you're reading it.

LordXwee: Yeah. Now, everyone should know, really really know, that this is most likely the last chapter we'll be able to post before Christmas break ends. Even if Natsyourlord is half-Jewish and will be spending the week lazing around on the couch instead of typing or opening presents or plotting or anything useful.

Natsyourlord: I need a break sometime. And we have, like, fifty projects to do. Evil teachers. And it's not like _you_ ever help.

LordXwee: That's because my Internet sucks! And because I'm not allowed to write battle scenes! But I can write angsty fluff! Like my story, A Sparkle of Sarcasm-

Natsyourlord: No advertising in the infomercial section.

LordXwee: -sigh- Fine... anyway, last chapter was a little bit disoriented - tee hee, I used a big word - because we were trying to shove in lotsa characters. And _most_ of those characters will become more important later on, even Chou, the poor dead ANBU. So be happy, Silverhairedlightning! His death was not in vain! Um, but, anyway, this chapter will be a bit more focused, what with that major cliffhanger and all, so we're going to make this one shorter, too.

Natsyourlord: In other words, I'm going to be working a lot over the next few days.

LordXwee: Yup! So, everybody enjoy this chapter, and we hope to recieve your reviews! They make us happy!

**_PLEASE NOTE:_** **Because Natsyourlord decided to flame a story that UTTERLY DESERVED IT, now a certain Dark Hershey1337 is spamming our story in an inappropriate manner. We ask everyone to take some time out of their day to report abuse of his reviews, and if you feel like it, flame his stories. Once you see them, you'll know why we want to do this. Hopefully we can A) Get him kicked off the site, B) Scare him off for good, or C) Both. Thank you for your time.**

* * *

"Arashi!" 

Rei looked up from his ice cream cart to see Yagami, his face serious. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Someone saw us. We doubt he escaped Ucheki - I'm pretty sure she used her puppet technique, so it shouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes. But just to be safe, we're abanding the plan quickly. Stay here and continue whatever you are doing."

Nodding, Rei absentmindedly handed a cone to the child waiting impatiently in line. "Anything else?"

"Remain in Konoha until further instructions," the dark-haired boy muttered, disappearing.

A few moments after his departure, Rei glanced back down at the line. "Oh - it's you, Fuu! How are you? Hey - you look diferent from when I last saw you. Wasn't your hair brown? And your skin looks darker too..."

"Who was that?" said the now-black haired boy. It wasn't a question.

Rei hesitated for a moment. "T-That was just someone I work with," he finally said.

"Why did he call you Arashi? I thought your name was Rei."

"It... it is," he said. "Arashi is just... just my nickname."

Fuu's eyes, still green, narrowed harshly. "Mm-hm. Rei, why don't you tell me exactly what's going on here?"

"Look," said Rei angrily, deciding to stop playing dumb. "I don't want in on this. I really don't. In fact, I shouldn't be here at all. But trust me on this - if you stick your nose in this, you will get hurt." He heaved a breath through his teeth. "You need to be careful around here, Fuu."

The boy, his gaze not wavering, pushed his robe back to reveal a flask of red liquid hooked to his belt. Dipping his fingers into it, he growled, "I don't care if I get hurt. Tell me what's going on."

Rei bit his lip. "No."

Fuu's eyes got even narrower. His frown deepening, he quickly lashed out and swept his hand across Rei's forehead. "What the-" But looking up, he saw that Fuu had disappeared into the crowd.

The man sighed and looked down at his shiny metal ice cream cart. Then he gasped.

In his reflection, a messily-drawn kanji for _baka_ had been written on his forehead in blood.

* * *

Kin stood silently in the crowd, watching the Yondaime's idiotic son. While he _was_ next in line by both ability and birthright, same as Tsunade, it didn't make much sense in any other aspect. The boy had a fox inside him. His friend was that top-security prisoner, the Uchiha. And he was a complete idiot, to top it all off. 

"Kin," Yagami said, reappearing behind the silver haired man, "I informed Arashi to stay put and that we're backing out."

Kin whipped around and stared down at Yagami. "But we aren't backing out, you idiotic-"

"I know," Yagami interrupted, "There were people around. It's better to keep Arashi in the dark while we go ahead."

Kin shook his head, "If we get close to the Hokage, get caught, and cause an uproar, Arashi will find out. He isn't stupid. We would get in trouble for leaving him out of it."

Yagami smirked up at the big man, "He wants to go anyway. Plus, we won't get caught."

Ucheki coughed, making the other two notice her, "We won't get caught? That's big talk coming from you, Yagami."

"You don't believe in Ereshkigal and our goals?" he asked mockingly.

She scoffed. "Of course I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't be alive, now would I?"

* * *

Tashina ran through the streets, shouting apoligies to passerby. Chiisai had been taking a little too long, so she had hoisted the girl up onto her back. The going was much faster now, even with the added weight. 

"What are we going to do?" came the girl's voice, shaky, from next to her ear. Tashina bit her lip; she really didn't know what she was going to do. She had to tell the Hokage, that much was certain, but other than that she couldn't even stand to think. Who were these Ereshkigal people? She knew _Ereshkigal_ was the Sumerian goddess of death. That probably said something about the group themselves. But what exactly were they after?

"We're going to tell the Hokage, of course. Then we're going to get you back to your bodyguard. What's his name?"

She felt Chiisai's grip tighten around her throat at her empty response, but the reply came: "Shian Kyoudai."

"Okay." They broke through the crowds among the festival and now had a clean run towards the podium-platform. Most of the people had left already, and those who hadn't were small enough in number to weave through. Uzumaki had already gone inside the Hokage building, but fortunately Chuunin was of high enough importance to get in.

The ANBU guard out in the front of the building held up a hand to her, stopping her from going any further. "Identification," he said.

"I'm Tashina Adamie. I need to see the Hokage, _now._"

"Oh, yes. He's been expecting you. You and Miss Hiromoto can go right up," he told her, stepping aside. Oh, yeah. She had been carrying a kid who was practically a goddess to the daiymo of the entire Land of Fire, that was all. Nodding to the guard, she ran through the door, flashed her ID to the receptionist, and charged up a set of spiral stairs.

Chiisai's breath was eerily cold by her ear. "Is Shian going to help us?" the girl asked.

"Yes, he's going to help us," Tashina replied softly, sounding more confident than she felt.. She didn't even know who this Shian guy was. "Shian - is he a Jounin?"

"Chuunin... Dad hired him because his family needed the money. He's nice."

They finally arrived at the door of the office, which was open. Inside, the Hokage himself - along with Konohamaru Sarutobi, Sakura Haruno, Lady Tsunade, and another boy with a black ski cap pulled over dark brown hair - looked up at her in surprise. "Oh, Tashina, I'm glad you're here. That was fast," said the blond boy.

She hastily set Chiisai down, whose pale face was almost the color of her white-blonde hair. The girl's gaze flickered to the capped boy, who flashed her a quick grin. Chiisai smiled unsurely back.

"It's Tasha, sir," Tashina said, "And I have bad news."

Uzumaki raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Damn. He was acting more authorative already.

"I found Chiisai, sir, but there was another problem... An ANBU, sir... he was..."

"He was dying when I found him," finished Chiisai. Her voice, though quiet, was surprisingly calm. "He said something about a group called Ereshkigal. I think you should stay in hiding for a while. I have experience with these sort of shinobi, sir." Of course. Daiymo's daughter. Probably got threats like this all the time.

"What did he look like?" demanded Uzumaki, his eyes widening angrily. "The dying ANBU?"

Tashina thought for a moment - she had mostly been focusing at the blood at the time. "He had brown hair - um, tall... When we found him, three of his fingers were missing, but his hand looked like it was completely healed."

"Which fingers?" Uzumaki asked. She told him.

"Ah, Chou..." he muttered, covering his face in his hands. "I liked him... He was a nice guy. But we can't be sad now - Ereshkigal was the name of the group?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Sakura, look them up, would you? Konohamaru, assemble a team of Jounin-level or above to track them down. No more than five, though. Shian, Tasha, take Chiisai to a safe place."

Sarutobi looked at Uzumaki incredulously. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to warn the people. We need all the shinobi we can get. I've heard some things about this Ereshkigal group - Sasuke was muttering about them when he was still in prison. I think they're connected to Akatsuki..." he trailed off, looking out the window where the festival was still roaring. "I hate to interrupt them, but it's for the safety of everyone."

"Yes, sir," said Sarutobi, vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"Come on, Chiisai," said the boy - Shian - putting a hand on her shoulder. "Let's get out of here. Your name's Tashina?" he asked, turning to the said girl.

She nodded. "But I like to be called Tasha," she added.

"Right." Shian hoisted Chiisai onto his back. "Let's get going."

* * *

LordXwee: We know it was a little shorter than usual, but we had to cut it there because we wanted to post this chapter as soon as possible. The spamming's getting worse, and we really want to put a stop to it.

Natsyourlord: It's all my fault... I flamed him once and he screwed up all my stories... wahh...

LordXwee: It's okay, we'll get him.

Natsyourlord: I hope we do. I'm copy-and-pasting this, just to stress how badly we want to get this guy kicked off.

**_PLEASE NOTE:_** **Because Natsyourlord decided to flame a story that UTTERLY DESERVED IT, now a certain Dark Hershey1337 is spamming our story in an inappropriate manner. We ask everyone to take some time out of their day to report abuse of his reviews, and if you feel like it, flame his stories. Once you see them, you'll know why we want to do this. Hopefully we can A) Get him kicked off the site, B) Scare him off for good, or C) Both. Thank you for your time.**

LordXwee: Thanks for your cooperation, everybody! And again, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Enjoy Your Kwanza, etc.!!!

Natsyourlord: And have a happy happy new year!

LordXwee: Hey, you ended in an exclamation point again!

Natsyourlord: ...No I didn't.

-Natsyourlord and LordXwee


	8. Sabaku no Misasushi

Natsyourlord: Well, everybody, we're back.

LordXwee: With an unlimited warranty!

Natsyourlord: -slap-

LordXwee: Owie! Well, aside from that randomness, welcome to Who Wants To Be A Ninja 2008! Yeaaahh!

Natsyourlord: -blows little party whistle thingy-

LordXwee: To start the new year with a bang, we're doing another ultra-long chapter! With an unlimited warranty! -blocks Natsyourlord's slap- We decided we weren't _quite _being fair to all the jounin that were submitted thus far, so we're including a chapter specially dedicated to jounins!

Natsyourlord: And Ereshkigal.

LordXwee: Well, kind of. Not really. Anywho, after we're done introducing characters, everything will get clearer, we promise. But right now, you would not _believe_ how many people are FFPM-ing us, whining about their characters and whatnot. We WILL include your character. We PROMISE. No matter WHAT their role is in the story.

Natsyourlord: That means killing them off, people.

LordXwee: Yup! Tee hee! So remember, if you complain about your character, chances of your untimely demise go up by 50 percent! Same goes for how detailed your character form is, because we can't really use someone we don't know much about. Sorry.

Natsyourlord: And about Darker Hershey?

LordXwee: Oh, yeah! DARKER HERSHEY1337 HAS BEEN BANNED THANKS TO ALL YOUR EFFORTS! WE APPRECIATE IT, EVERBODY! OUR STORY IS NO LONGER TAINTED!!!

Natsyourlord: Ow. I think my eardrums exploded.

LordXwee: Tee hee. Yup.

Natsyourlord: Can I start typing now?

LordXwee: Yeah, whatever. I LIKE CHEESE!

* * *

"...We are doing everything we can to stop these people from escaping. In the meantime, we request for all citizens to remain indoors. Keep your doors and windows locked, and do not leave your homes until we send out the message that everything is all right." 

There was a stunned silence as the news sank in.

Then... pandemonium erupted.

Hinote bit her lip as she fought her way through the crowds. "Ereshkigal?" she mumbled. "Weird name... I wonder if-"

"Hinote!"

She looked up to see Koudo, waving to her in between panicked civilians. Muttering her apoligies, she forced her way over to him. "Koudo, what's going on? Shouldn't we get out of here?"

He nodded. "Yeah, we should be. If the Hokage himself weren't asking for us."

She blinked. "The Hokage?"

"Uh-huh."

"But - why would he want us? If he needed anyone to fight these Ereshkigal people off, he would have chosen ANBU level... or higher."

"Yeah, I know," muttered the brown-haired man. "But we'd better get going. He said it was urgent. And, have you seen Seki? He's been assigned to this, too."

Hinote grimaced. "Seki? Are you sure? He went hippie on us a while back." Under her breath she added, "And he's starting to smell a little weird."

"That's harsh, dude," A voice said from behind. Hinote whirled around to see a tall man with dirty-blond hair pulled into a ponytail standing behind her. She instantly turned as red as her hair.

"Er... sorry, Seki."

He stared at her for a moment before spitting a cough drop onto the ground. "It's cool, Hinote." He grinned.

"Ugh, come on! Lord Hokage summoned us. Important mission, remember?" Koudo yelled. He started to push through the crowd with the other two fellow jounin following behind.

* * *

"I have a gravely important mission for you four," Uzumaki said, pacing before Hinote, Koudo, Seki, and another jounin, Vega Ryu. Vega, a broad-shouldered man with a never-changing serious glare, had once fallen victim to Orochimaru's "experiments". As it was, he now had a four-foot-long dragon tail, twitching slightly. 

The Hokage looked at all of them seriously before continuing. "Just a minute ago, we recieved word that a jounin named Niani Uriati was captured, by one of the people in this Ereshikigal group. Other jounin are trying to find the other members that invaded our village, so you four, Hinote Kazuki, Koudo Kobushi, Seki Nennoirekata, and Vega Ryu, need to go rescue her. Do not pick a fight with these people unless it's absolutely necessary - we don't know how powerful they are. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," the four responded, leaving the office in a poof of smoke.

* * *

Misasushi knelt in the dirt of the forest, somewhere not too far from the Leaf Village. Her hostage, Niani, was drugged and bound in special chakra bonds. The bonds were tied into Misasushi's chakra system, so the only way to release them aside from her willing it would be to for either she or the hostage to die. But whatever they sent her way, Misaushi knew she could handle it. 

Niani glared at the red-eyed girl, or at least, she glared as much as she could. The drug in her system was very powerful - she could barely think, and even if she could, the binds were strong, and a piece of cloth was gagging her.

"I'm going to kill you, did you know that?" said Misasushi contemptuously. "The leaf village is filled with cowards and fools. Any minute now, I expect, a squad of your finest ANBU are going to show up to rescue you. They're going to negotiate first, then attack. They don't want you killed. Of course, you're no good to me alive, so it doesn't matter to me, but to them it does." she snickered. "Oh, but fighting to the death is fun, don't you think? Watching people fall to the ground by your own hand... it tickles a bit." Her face split into a wide grin. "And guess what? You're going to be the next to fall."

Niani stared even more furiously at Misasushi, who laughed and turned away. "Whatever. I don't even know why I'm talking to you. Except that I'm bored. And a little lonely. Kin and Yagami and Ucheki all got to get out of here... I had to take the freaking hostage."

Something small, shiny, and wet came flying out of the trees and stuck to the arm of Misasushi's cloak. She didn't notice.

"When are the stupid ANBU going to get here... I just want to dispose of them and get the hell out of he-"

**BOOM.**

"Sorry, honey. No ANBU here."

"Dude, I got radical aim. Kaboom."

Misasushi looked up, right sleeve on fire, to see the jounin squad standing up in the trees, looking down at her with smirking faces. "Looks like this is going to be easier than I thought," said Vega, the only one with a completely stoic expression. "Let's go."

The three others nodded and vanished from sight. Misasushi didn't care, though. She had put the jutsu in place. They were as good as dead.

* * *

Hinote reappeared just above Misasushi in the trees. Her job, as they had decided, would be to heal anyone who was injured, and if possible, attack from a distance. At first though, Vega was going to move in and experiment with her hand-to-hand combat abilities. 

Vega looked over to Hinote from another branch, who nodded for him to go. He pressed his hands together, muttering, "Hitsuji. Saru. Tatsu. Ne. Ushi. Inu. Tatsu." Leaping from the branch, his voice crescendoed into a yell. "Ikazuchi-Tsume, Thunder Claw!"

Hinote watched as the blue-haired man sprinted at Misasushi, his fingers extending into large, white-blue talons. Crackling with electricity, he clawed at the Ereshkigal member. She screamed as it sliced through her robe, both creating a gash across her stomach and shocking her body.

Then, suddenly, her mouth twisted into an insane grin.

Vega's eyes widened suspiciously. He twisted and tried to get some distance, but Misasushi's hand seized him by the wrist, fingernails digging deep into the skin.

"What the..." he muttered to himself. "Her hands... they feel like-"

"Wood?" came a voice from behind Hinote. She looked up in shock, but before she could do anything she was suddenly knocked from her position, spiralling towards the earth.

Cracks appeared across the skin of the Misasushi that had grabbed Vega. It began to peel and flake, falling from her body revealing the wooden puppet underneath. Hinote lifted herself from the ground and tried to get up, but Misasushi stomped on her ankle. A sharp pain rushed up her leg as she gasped in pain. It was probably broken, but there was no time to be concerned about that.

Vega was now writhing in his attempt to escape, the puppet's fingers cutting even deeper into his wrist. Looking closer, he saw that the fingernails were actually razorblades. "Dammit!" the dragon-man growled, finally wrenching free. His wrist dripped with blood.

"Don't move," said Misasushi, drawing a kunai and placing against Hinote's neck, "Or she dies." With her other hand, the black-haired girl extended strings of chakra from her fingers, another puppet appearing along with it.

_How did she do that?_ Hinote thought, staring in amazement.

As if reading her mind, Misasushi explained it. "I'm a puppet master. My puppets are created with chakra, so I have an almost unlimited supply of them. The chakra I use can be solidified to attack, or I can make it intangible so as to avoid attack. And on top of that, even if you do attack me, I can create an armor of chakra similar to that of my puppets around my body. You won't ever be able to put a single scratch on my body."

"Oh, yeah? What about a sneak attack?!" Before anyone could react, Koudo was speeding from nowhere, his foot connecting with the side of Misasushi's head. She let out a scream and went flying. Hinote seized her chance by scrambling up and leaping into the trees, her ankle still searing with pain. Koudo, meanwhile, stood over Misasushi, in a battle stance.

Misasushi smirked as cracks began to spiderweb across her skin, starting at the part of her face that had gotten hit, before the whole thing shattered away. She wiggled her fingers. From behind him, a puppet appeared, its wooden face grinning horribly. Koudo jumped away towards Vega, who was doing multiple acrobatic attacks to try to avoid the attacking puppet, but not before a blade extending from the puppet's stomach stabbed through his chuunin vest.

"Vega," he muttered once he was near his teammate, "How do you think we can beat her?"

Vega grimaced. "If what she says is true, we would need to make her expend all of her chakra. The best way to do this would be to attack her directly, but unfortunately she has all those puppets around her. We should eliminate the use of her hands... even just one would do."

Misasushi must have overheard this, because she vanished from sight, reappearing next to Niani and still holding the kunai. "Not a chance," she said, smiling the strange puppet smile. "If you even _try_ to come any closer, I'll kill her immediately. And I've deployed another puppet, so don't even think about a surprise attack, hippie." Her smile grew even wider. "That's right, I can see you."

Suddenly Seki appeared next to Hinote. "Dude," he said quietly, so as not to attract attention. "She's mad strong. Do you need any help? Looks like your ankle got, like, totally thrashed."

The redhead tried to move her ankle again and was greeted by a fresh wave of pain. "Yeah... I think it's broken. I can heal it, but you need to help Vega and Koudo."

"Yeah. Looks like they're in some insane trouble. Niani Uriati might die. That'd suck."

"At this rate, I'd say it's more probable than possible..." said Hinote. "I wish it didn't have to end up like this, but someone might get hurt." She let out a long sigh. "I wish I had some sort of tactical genius here... or even just some good shinobi in general. I got a pretty good group of genin, so I could say I wish they were here, but I don't. This is dangerous - they could get killed."

Seki nodded just as another scream came from the fight down below. "I better go. Catch ya on the flip side." The hippie jumped down into the fight as Hinote began the healing process.

The battle was at a standstill, with Misasushi holding a kunai to Niani's neck and both Vega and Koudo staring in intense concentration. All three were poised to attack, but it didn't seem like anyone was going to make a move. Landing next to Vega, Seki muttered, "I'm going to spit another cough drop-"

"No!" Vega whispered fiercely, "I have a plan, follow me." Vega disappeared. Seki and Koudo looked at each other blankly for a second, then disappeared with him.

Misasushi let out a high-pitched giggle, "Hiding won't help you!" she shrieked, clutching the kunai tighter against her hostage's neck. A few beads of blood appeared along the blade.

Out of the trees there was a sudden howling wind, followed by an earsplitting roar. Emerging from the trees were two huge, silvery dragons, jaws wide and eyes shining gleefully. They bellowed again simutaneously and charged at Misasushi, who let out a little shriek. Quickly she erected a puppet and poofed away. Both dragons collided with the puppet, which immediately dissipated into smoke

"Dude, why is she running?" Seki asked, unable to see anything.

"Tatsu Bun'ya- Dragon's Realm," Vega replied, focusing hard on maintaining the jutsu. "A genjutsu. She believes dragons are chasing her... What was that?"

"Hinote," said the redhead, pushing aside some branches. "Aren't you the jumpy one?"

"Hey!" Koudo interrupted, "Niani's free. I'll go get her - it's too dangerous for more than one of us to go."

Hinote shook her head. "I'll go - I have the most stamina left. I barely even got to fight yet."

She bounded from the trees over to Niani, who face down in the dirt, quivering. Hinote grabbed her shoulders rolled her on her back, then grimaced in disgust and fear. Niani's face had collapsed in on itself, revealing her body to be completely hollow. From where her ribcage should have been, a sharp blade extended, catching Hinote across the shoulder as she leaped away.

"I learned that from reading some scrolls my father wrote - about his puppet techniques." Misasushi said. "Using a dead person's body as a puppet is one of them."

Hinote jumped, spun around, and caught Misasushi in a grapple. _A dead person's body as a puppet? _She thought. "But the only person who knew how to do that was-"

"Sabaku no Sasori, of Akatsuki," Misasushi grinned, her fingers twitching anxiously. "That's right, he was my father. You deserve a cookie."

The dark-eyed jounin stared in shock. "But... Sasori had no children!"

"None than he knew of," corrected Misasushi, her grin growing wider. "Only after he'd been sighted on an Akatsuki mission had I learned he was my father. Not neccesarily by hair color, but by everything else, I looked exactly as he did. I had always had an interest in puppets... now I knew why. I was fourteen years old at the time, if you can believe it." Her smile cracked a bit into insanity. "I was fourteen, and I found out that my father belonged to the most feared terrorist group ever known."

"Made you so proud, didn't it?"

"Actually it did," Misasushi smirked, pushing harder on Hinote's arms and forcing her to take a step back. "I thought, _I have a family legacy. I know who my father is._ And I resolved to become an even better puppeteer than Sabaku no Sasori, and one day hunt him down and defeat him. So I trained, and eventually joined up with Ereshkigal. They don't exactly tell me very much - they aren't a very trusting group, even to their subordiates. But it didn't matter. I had a place with others like me, where I could measure my progress. And a year after I joined, I heard that my father had been killed, thanks to Sakura Haruno and my very own great-grandmother."

"So, what, they don't trust you at all? Not very surprising, given your attitude."

Misasushi's smile instantly turned into a scowl, "I wouldn't speak like that, especially coming from a jounin who failed her mission."

Hinote's grip tightened, her knuckles turning white. "What do you mean?"

"Your mission was to rescue that other jounin, correct?" Misasushi smiled again as Hinote's eyes narrowed. "Well it's a little hard to _rescue_ a _dead_ person."

The three male jounin stared down in shock, watching and listening to their conversation. Koudo shifted uncomfortably on the branch he stood on and looked at his other two companions. He noticed, to his surprise, that Vega was smirking, his long dragon tail swishing through the air.

"It's a bluff," he said. "She's playing Hinote, trying to mess with her head. Niani is in the forest... somewhere northeast of us, about five hundred meters... and she's alive. I can sense her chakra. Seki, why don't you go get her?"

"Whatever, dude. Just don't treat me like a little kid," the hippie shrugged, dashing off into the trees.

Koudo scratched his head, turning back to Vega. "What are we going to do, then?" he asked.

Vega, pulled out his katana, making Koudo flinch. "Well, her chakra has dwindled considerably since our battle started... and Hinote's preventing her from using her hands. We're going to kill her." Koudo saw a flicker of insanity in the dragon-man's eyes, and gulped. "Here's what we're going to do. You're going to use your taijutsu to knock her away from Hinote. Then I'm going to use a certain move... It should kill her instantly. If she's not using a puppet, which I don't think she is." As he finished his sentence, he jumped away.

"Oh, boy," he muttered, following. As he hit the ground, he was distinctly aware of Hinote and Misasushi both looking up at him before he punched the ground. A shockwave ran through it, interrupting the women's grappling match. He saw Hinote's hands loosen their grip on Misasushi's arms, and quickly he charged towards her, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her along with him. Once he had pulled her a good hundred meters away, he turned to see just what Vega was doing.

"KIEUSERU!!!" Vega screamed, swinging his katana. Before Misasushi could turn around or conjure up a puppet, Vega struck her with his katana. The blade sliced through both robe and skin, blood spurting from the wound. Vega dragged his katana across the black-haired woman's back, smiling ruthlessly as blood gushed, some spattering on his clothing. He finally pulled the sword out, blade glistening red. Misasushi fell, first onto her knees and then face forward, into the dirt. The blood that remained in her body began to slowly pool around her.

"Vega!" Hinote yelled, rushing towards him with Koudo following. "What the hell was that?!"

"We're on a mission and I wasn't going to fail it," Vega replied. Seki came out of the bushes carrying Niani over his shoulder. A faint glow from the chakra bonds binding her showed around her wrists and ankles.

"Looks like you were right, Vega. She was - DUDE! That's not cool!" Seki yelled, popping some cough drops into his mouth. "Oops. Almost dropped Uriati. That woulda sucked, big time."

"At least it's over now and we can go," Koudo muttered, turning around. "You could have at least told me what you were going to do, Vega."

From behind them there came a sudden, earsplitting crack. All four of the jounin spun around in shock.

Misasushi had risen up, supported by two puppets. Behind her there were three more puppets, each with drill-like fingers, razorblades protruding from their torsos, and extra limbs made entirely of sharp needles and knives.

And they were charging in a wave-like fashion at the jounin.

Seki spat the cough drops that he had just put in his mouth at the puppets. They exploded, but when the smoke cleared the puppets were already regrowing new limbs.

"YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO STOP ME!" screamed Misasushi hysterically. With a flash of her fingers, the weapon-bearing puppets extracted six more razorblades each, the blades flying at the four. They all ducked for cover, but one of the razorblades struck Koudo in the calf, and another made a deep cut in Vega's tail.

And they were still coming.

_There's no way we can block this,_ thought Hinote. _Or dodge it - there's too many of them. We need to counter it somehow..._ Suddenly an idea came to mind. She bit her lip, knowing how dangerous it was, but after another glimpse of the puppet horde she decided it was worth it. Quickly she bit her thumb, a bit of blood coming from the bite.

"Tora! Tatsu! Ushi! Tora! Saru! Inu!" she yelled, breaking into a cold sweat. "Furui Chifaia Yaiba! Ancient Blood Fire Blade!!!"

As she spoke the words, a long katana extended from nothing into her hands. It was at least nine feet long, bright red, and appeared to be on fire. She swung the flaming katana in a whirlwind, slashing towards Misasushi. A long scream erupted from one of the two as a bright light enveloped them.

When the light minally cleared, the puppets were gone, and Misasushi was once again on the ground. This time, Vega rushed forwards and pressed two fingers to her neck.

"She's really dead this time," he muttered.

From behind him came Seki's voice. "Oh, SHIT, man!"

A sharp razorblade had embedded itself deep in Niani's neck, her crimson blood spilling down her neck. "This isn't too good," the hippie mumbled, looking stricken.

"We failed..." growled Vega. "After all that, we failed."

Suddenly Hinote, who had been standing with a dazed expression, collapsed without warning. Koudo let out a yelp.

"Hinote!"

The three men rushed over to her. This time it was Koudo who checked her pulse. "She's still alive, but her pulse is faint. We gotta get her to a hospital right away."

* * *

Natsyourlord: Wow. You actually did something this time. 

LordXwee: Yup. And not because I'm being bribed with anything, not at all!

Natsyourlord: -slap-

LordXwee: Tee hee. Ow. Well, we hope you liked this extra long battle-y chapter! Your present for 2008!

Natsyourlord: Ehh... My brain hurts. And my keyboard is greasy from the potato chips I ate while typing.

LordXwee: Ew.

Natsyourlord: I know.

LordXwee: But, back to our endy sentence, thanks for reading, and please review! BUT NO MORE SUBMISSIONS!

-Natsyourlord and LordXwee


	9. Hamster Chase

LordXwee: WOO! WWTBAN NINTH CHAPTER!!!

Natsyourlord: Well, technically it's the eighth because the character form doesn't count.

LordXwee: Oh. Oh yes.

Natsyourlord: Because of how confusing this is getting, we're going to start naming the chapters. Why? I just told you.

LordXwee: Natsyourlord is feeling a little sick to her stomach, so she's being more smart-alecky than normal. Poor Natsyourlord. -pats Natsyourlord on the back-

Natsyourlord: Why are you touching me?

LordXwee: See what I mean?

Natsyourlord: -grabs the golden spork-

LordXwee: Oh my. Well's here the next chapter. Yay!

* * *

"She's dead." 

"Hakkyou, I assure you we didn't believe Misasushi could possibly be killed. There were signs of an obvious struggle, sir, her chakra had been completely drained by the time we found her. I can assure you she fought to her-"

"SILENCE!" Hakkyou Hinatori yelled, a column of fire exploding behind him. "This mission should _not _have failed. That is the sole reason as to why I chose you to lead this mission, Kin. If you are incapable..." his brow furrowed, and his skin began smoking.

"No, no, Hakkyou - Lord Hakkyou, sir - I swear to you, I will not fail again." Kin's voice quavered a bit.

A small smile formed on Hakkyou's face. "Very well," he said, turning. The Ereshkigal cloak whirled with him. "I will most likely assign you to another mission soon. You know the punishment for three failures, I believe?"

"Yes, sir."

"You may leave."

The instant Kin was outside the door of Hakkyou's chamber, he collapsed, sweating nervously. Yagami and Ucheki looked up from their seats on the ground.

"So what's our punishment?" asked Ucheki.

Kin sighed. When he spoke, his voice shook. "As far as I could deduce, he is giving me one final chance. I believe it's because I was the leader of the mission. Don't assume that you can walk free, but you two will probably live."

Yagami exhaled slowly, anxiously fingering the taut strings of his his guitar. "Hakkyou's a scary guy. Remember the last time Waya came here? He killed everyoune who went into his chamber for a week."

"I remember that..." mumbled Ucheki. "Hinatori's son... he's defied his father, probably signing his own death warrant along with it."

"Yeah..." said Waya. "My Inferno bloodline limit might have something to do with it, too."

Yagami nodded.

Then he did a double-take. "Waya?"

The red-and-black haired boy who was standing there grinned sheepishly. "What's up, Kijin? Ucheki? Kin?" He walked towards the door to his father's chamber, his black fireproof trenchcoat swishing with him. "I gotta talk to my dad for a sec."

"I told you to call me by my last name..." muttered Yagami.

Waya sighed. "Whatever, _Yagami_. Geez."

"Waya," said Ucheki. "Look, I think you're cute-" the boy scowled. "-and that's the only reason I'm warning you about this. But the last time you were here, you infuriated your father. It won't be a wise idea to visit him again so soon."

"The last time I was here, it was a year ago. I don't think he's ever going to cool down." Waya grinned wider. "Don't worry, I can handle him. He _is_ my father, after all." He touched the scythe on his back, then pushed through the door.

"Poor kid," muttered Kin. "Shall we hold him a funeral?"

Before either of the other two could answer, a burst of flame came from under the door, accompanied with a "GET OUT, BOY!"

A few moments later a crack appeared in the door.

Ucheki groaned. "Oh, boy..."

* * *

Tokoro, Tsurai, and Kaeri were waiting on a bench outside the operating room. The doors opened and out came a medic-nin, the surgical utensils still in his pockets. 

"Will Hinote-sensei be alright?" asked Kaeri immediately. Tokoro and Tsurai looked up, equally eager to know.

The surgeon sighed. "Well, as it turns out, the jutsu she used was what saved her teammate's lives - but it also put hers in serious danger. After many tests, we deduced that there is a possibility she may have depleted her chakra to such a low level that it will take many months to build it back to its normal status - if ever. Also, we don't know if-"

"Can you just tell us if she's gonna live or not?" Tokoro asked, exasperated.

The medic-nin looked at him irritably. "Yes, she's going to live," he said. "But only because she was delivered to the hospital so quickly. That move was originally created by the Kazuki clan as a sacrificial attack, actually _designed_ to most likely kill the user."

"So, what, is she brain-damaged or something?"

"Paraplegic?"

"Homicidal?"

"No," growled the medic. "She's going to be fine - in about a month. Right now she's in a coma, but she'll probably wake up about a week. She won't be able to move for a while more, and even then she'll have to spend some time recuperating here."

"Aren't comas where people have a _chance_ of dying?"

"We're twelve and we know that, shouldn't you?"

"That's kinda stupid of a doctor, you know."

"Well, it's a COMA!" yelled the medic nin. "All it means is that she can't be woken up right now. She _will_ be fine. It's just going to take a while."

The three stared at him for a moment.

"Wow, I thought modern medicine had developed much further in this day and age."

"Are you _sure_ you graduated from medical school?"

"I'm going to ask to see your diploma, just to make sure."

"GET OUT!" seethed the medic-nin.

* * *

"Make go boom?" asked Kodomo, looking at his sensei curiously as the blonde-haired man arrived. 

"That means, why were you late today, Seki-sensei," translated Makoto.

Seki pulled his ponytail tighter. "My bud Hinote, is in the hospital, little dudes. Just making sure she was cool."

"Is she okay?" said Aoiro.

Seki nodded. "Yeah, man, everything's good."

"Good. So what's our mission for today?"

"Today's mission, little dudes, is another pet-finding one. We gotta find someone's hamster."

"Hamster? Who the heck loses a hamster?"

"You'd be surprised..." muttered Seki. "Anyway, dudes, the hamster took off somewhere in the market. We need to find it before it escapes. All the little dudes ready?"

Makoto and Kodomo grinned excitedly, while Aoiro just shrugged. "Whatever."

"Then let's go, kiddies! Squad One rocks the house!"

* * *

Ten minutes and a dash to the market later, they were no closer to finding the runaway hamster. 

"Makoto!" yelled Aoiro into her earpiece. "Did you find anything?"

"No," Makoto answered. "Kodomo?"

"Make go boom."

Makoto audibly grimaced. "Darn," he/she/it said.

"Wait-" A smile spread across the blue-haired girl's face. "I got something."

A small brown shape had just darted between shops, narrowly missing getting squashed by someone's foot. "Yep, I think I got 'im," she said, edging through the crowds to get closer to the hamster. "Kodomo, the thing's just beneath your post. Do you see it?"

"Make go boom... make go boom..." a squeal came through the headset. "Make go boom!"

"Okay, great!" came Makoto's voice. "Close in on it and catch it, Kodomo. Send up a signal flare if you get it."

"Make go boom!"

Aoiro watched as the tall-haired silhouette darted towards the cart, followed by a delighted squeal. "Make go boom!"

"Oh, no, Kodomo, not-"

**BOOM.**

A column of smoke rose up from the spot where the cart had once stood, Kodomo smiling and waving from the middle of it and clutching a small brown hamster. "Make go boom!" he yelled, bouncing happily. A few seconds later Makoto appeared, dragging both spiky-haired boy and hamster away from the scene. The owner of the cart was in tears.

* * *

"I really don't think I can take this anymore," sighed the Hokage. 

Squad One and Seki stood sheepishly in his office, heads lowered.

"I'm serious," he continued. "We've gotten more complaints about - about _explosions_ occuring in the village since your team has started than the rest of the graduating class of the past five years, put together! I'm up to my neck here, Seki, I really can't do anything about your squad."

"I'm sorry, dude, I really am. Kodomo here just loves his explosions, don'cha, little dude?"

Kodomo beamed.

The Hokage buried his face in his hands. "And he was given a _restriction _as to how far away he has to be to make his bombs. Do you remember that, Kodomo?"

"Make go boom."

"That means, he thinks the restriction was created solely for where he _made_ his explosives. Not for where he detonated them," said Makoto, stiffening at the Hokage's glare.

Uzumaki turned to the goggled boy standing silently beside his desk. "Do you have any ideas, Konohamaru?"

The Hokage's assistant shrugged. "Maybe get them out of the village? I know those missions are C-rank, but..."

"That's actually a good idea," Uzumaki agreed. "We just got a C-Rank mission report a few hours ago, a delivery to Sunagakure. It might be good for them to leave the village, even if they weren't causing explosions left and right. How does it sound?"

The whole team smiled. "That'd be cool, Hokage-man," said Seki.

"Okay, then it's settled," said the Hokage. "Squad One will begin their delivery to Sunagakure, starting first thing in the morning. Meet at the gates at five AM tomorrow." A slight smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. "Oh, and Seki?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't call me Hokage-man."

* * *

LodXwee: That's right! Kodomo's team is being featured next, because he was so incredibly popular. Plus everyone wants to know if Makoto's a boy or a girl. 

Natsyourlord: Everyone praise Neatshinobi for creating such an awesome character.

LordXwee: Woo! Go, Neatshinobi!

Natsyourlord: You don't need to praise him, you're a co-author of this story. That makes you God.

LordXwee: But won't all the extremely religious people get offended and mob us now that you've said that? And, woo! I'm your superior, for I am God!

Natsyourlord: But I am Chuck Norris. So I am far superior to God. Sorry.

LordXwee: Well, his tears _do_ cure cancer...

Natsyourlord: Too bad he never cries. Never.

LordXwee: Now that we've had our inconcievably random and partially insulting conversation, please leave your reviews praising the story! It makes us sad when you don't!

-Natsyourlord and LordXwee


	10. Gotta see, gotta know! Makoto's gender!

LordXwee: YAAAAY Kodomo's team!

Natsyourlord: We have to focus on other people too, ya know.

LordXwee: Yeah...

Natsyourlord: And in order to focus on these other people, we are going to have... A WWTBAN POPULARITY CONTEST!!

LordXwee: Boo-yah!

Natsyourlord: The only rules are that you cannot vote for your own character and you can't vote for a non-OC.

LordXwee: The winner of the contest will get a full-scale drawing - NOT a chibi. So everyone has to start voting, even if you didn't submit a character or have your character included yet! Or even if your character died!

Natsyourlord: It's much more fun when we have lots of votes.

LordXwee: Yup!

Natsyourlord: Well, Squad One is currently on a delivery mission to Suna. Let's check in on them, shall we?

* * *

"Are we almost there?" groaned Makoto. The braided-haired boy/girl/thing was the only one carrying the huge parcel of Icha Icha books, courtesy of the publishing company that Kodomo's father owned. 

"Make go boom," muttered Kodomo, bored as well. He pulled a tiny explosive from his weapons pouch and flicked it out into the endless desert. From a few hundred meters away, a small purple smoke bomb exploded, sending several lizards running for cover.

The team had set out for Sunagakure about two days ago, and this morning they had crossed into the desert. The sun was flaring at them from the horizon, and far in the distance over the dunes there appeared to be a wavering black line.

"I think that's Suna there..." mumbled Aoiro, taking another sip of water. "Dammi- I mean, darn it, I'm all out of water!"

"Make go boom."

"I think she knows. Don't push it."

"I'm learning how to speak Kodomo, you two. And, yes, I _do_ know that you're tweens. Do you think I care?"

Seki sighed. "Come on, little dudes. Don't fight. And to answer your question, Makoto-kiddie, we're getting close! That's it there... on the horizon."

The sun had lowered a bit more, and now it perfectly illuminated the outline of the sand village.

"Saha-weet."

* * *

_Makoto was standing in the desert, his/her/its hair and clothing billowing around in the sandy wind. Makoto looked around the dunes. Where did Kodomo and Aoiro and Seki go?_

_"Hello?" the genin called out. His/her/its voice was carried away by the wind - he/she/it could barely hear him/her/itsself._

_Suddenly a figure appeared over one of the dunes. It looked familiar, but how so, he/she/it couldn't place._

_"Makoto?"_

_The boy/girl/thing recognized the voice. "Mom!" Makoto began to run through the dunes, ignoring the sand pelting his/her/its body and the throbbing of the wind in his/her/its ears._

_"Makoto, oh, my beautiful child," said his/her/its mother, reaching out to the young genin._

_"Mom, I-"_

_But as Makoto's outstretched fingers brushed the woman's, they began to slowly fall away, turning to sand and blowing away into the storm._

_"MOM!"_

_In seconds, the woman was gone, replaced by another figure - his/her/its father's._

_"Dad - are you... are you real?"_

_An all-too-familiar smile appeared on the man's face. "Yes, of course, Makoto. Come see for yourself." He spread his arms invitingly, and Makoto threw him/her/itself into them._

_This time the effect was faster - the body disappeared almost as soon as the boy/girl/thing touched the cloak. "DAD! NOT YOU TOO!"_

_A hand tapped him/her/it on the shoulder. Makoto turned around, now dreading what he/she/it might see._

_"Makoto! What's up, kiddo?"_

_In front of him/her/it now stood his/her/its older brother and sister, smiling at him/her/it. "Where'd you go?" they asked him/her/it simutaneously. "We thought you ran away."_

_"I did, I did!" Makoto was sobbing now, scared and angry at the same time. "You're not real, either, are you?"_

_His/her/its siblings exchanged a grin, and at that point Makoto couldn't hold it back any longer. He/she/it tackled both of them to the ground, their bodies dissapating into sand._

_"What is going on here?" he/she/it screamed, leaping into the fury of the sandstorm. The winds instantly threw him/her/it back, where he/she/it landed in a heap in the sand. He/she/it squinted into the sky, mumbling, "It's all my fault... I should never have tried to run... I'm so stupid..."

* * *

_"I should never have run away!" he/she/it screamed, jolting up. The other three stared at Makoto.

"Dude. You okay?" Seki asked, handing him some water. Makoto took it gratefully and took a sip.

"What happened?"

"Make go boom!" Kodomo replied with a smile on his face.

"So I fainted from the heat and the weight of the package of Icha Icha books? And you're going to carry them now?"

Kodomo nodded, grabbing the big package of Icha Icha books and putting it on his back. Makoto got up and dusted some sand off his/her/its pants.

"Let's go."

* * *

By the time they finally got to Sunagakure, it was almost dusk. They quickly dropped off the Icha Icha books at the store and, exhausted, trudged into the motel where they would spend the night. 

"Make go boom..." yawned Kodomo, stretching.

"Okay, little dudes. Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow we gotta head back to Konoha."

Later that night, Aoiro lay awake in the cramped motel room, listening to Kodomo's soft snoring - Makoto was so quiet, if you didn't know he/she/it was there, you could easily overlook him. Seki was sprawled on a tye-dye mat that he had insisted on bringing with him, his mouth wide open.

A rapping suddenly came at the window. Aoiro glanced up, automatically reaching to her thigh for a kunai before remembering she had removed the pouch when arriving in the motel. On the windowsill, a dark figure perched precariously.

Nervous but not yet frightened, she bit her thumb hard enough to bleed, then drew the kanji for sight on her forehead. Immediately her vision became clearer, and she was able to make out some distinguishing features of the person on the sill.

"Waya?"

As quietly as she could, the blue-haired girl snuck over to the window and pulled it open. Sure enough, Waya Hinatori grinned back at her.

"Hey," he said, "Long time no see."

"Waya, what the heck are you doing here? You're an S-class missing nin - people are _looking_ for you!"

The scar-faced boy rubbed the back of his neck. "I know... but I had to tell you. Ereshkigal members are here, _now_. In Suna. I had to let you know so that you could get out of here."

"So, what, you think you can disappear for three years and then come back and lecture me about some Eremishmal group?"

"Ereshkigal, dear Aoiro. Ereshkigal. Dun dun dun."

"Whatever. I'm not buying it, idiot. And your sound effects suck." She swiped out a hand and pushed Waya off the windowsill.

A jet of flame appeared beneath him, and he shot back up and landed again, this time grabbing the edge for added security. "Don't do that. We're four stories up."

"Whatever."

"You said that already."

Aoiro groaned. "Look, whatever. Again. We'll leave Suna as soon as we can. We were going to, anyway. But who are these Ereshkigal people?"

"Remember the terrorists that attacked your village a while back?"

"Yeah."

"That was them. They're insanely powerful - my dad's one of them. He wanted me to join up with them after I mastered the Inferno technique, but when I didn't, I made an enemy out of them. But I still told them about Chou."

"Chou? The ANBU who was killed?"

"Yeah. He had found a trail from Akatsuki that led them to Ereshkigal. I told my dad this."

"Waya! Why the hell would you do that?! I don't want terrorists to come and attack Konoha, especially not Hakkyou. He's insane! Literally!"

"I told you three years ago. I'm on no one's side anymore."

"Waya!"

But he jumped off the windowsill, calling back to the blue-haired girl, "Whoosh," as he vanished into the darkness He left only a trail of embers behind him.

* * *

"Rise and shine, little dudes! It's time for another day of making the world a peaceful place to live!" 

Makoto and Aoiro got up, rubbing their eyes as the desert sun shone through the open window. Kodomo snored and rolled over.

Seki smiled. "Alright now, we've got to get going soon if we want to make it back in time for another mission!"

Makoto frowned. "Actually sensei, I was wondering if we could stay in this village for a little while longer. I've almost never been out of Konoha before, and I wanted to explore a little more before we left."

Aoiro shook her head, remembering the previous night. "I don't know, Seki-sensei. It doesn't seem like it would be a good idea to stay here for too much longer. Won't the Hokage get mad at us if we don't report back to him?"

Seki stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I guess that's true, but at the same time, I've always wanted to see this village myself. Especially this Gaara guy, I think he could really use a peaceful yoga session. Delivered specially by yours truly!" With that, he pulled out his ukelele and began to play horribly.

All of a sudden, Kodomo shot out of bed like a rocket. "MY EARS!!!!!!!!"

Aoiro and Makoto stared. Seki dropped the ukelele. "Little dude, did you just say something besides 'make go boom'?"

Kodomo seemed to catch his senses, then looked at his teammates blankly. "Make go boom?"

The three ninja stared at each other in exasperation. "Never mind," mumbled Aoiro. Kodomo giggled and bounced over.

"Well, let's go explore," said Seki with less enthusiasm than before.

* * *

Aoiro had insisted that they stick together, so she was with Makoto and Kodomo was with Seki. The They both were about to make their way to the shops when they were approached by a group of Suna children. They were staring at the two teammates and whispering emphatically. 

"Woa. What _are_ those people?" One of the boys said. The others snickered.

"I don't know," a freckled boy said, "But these freaks sure ain't from here."

"Yea!" another one said, "That girl totally dyes her hair!"

Aoiro scowled. "Shut up about what you don't know. It's natural."

A boy wearing goggles around his neck stuck out his tongue. "Blue isn't natural!"

Aoiro put her hand down to her kunai pouch, but Makoto grabbed her hand. "Aoiro, don't. We can't start anything." He seized her hand to prevent her from grabbing a kunai.

"So, what, you're homosexuals, too? It's okay, you can tell us!" The group of boys sniggered.

Makoto twitched. "What was that?"

"Homosexual! Can't you hear?"

"Take your dorky girlfriend and get out of here!"

"I'M A BOY, YOU IDIOT JERKS!!!" screamed Makoto. He (NO MORE HE/SHE/IT!!!) vanished from sight, only to appear behind the freckled boy. From his weapons pouch he pulled a small coil of rope, and with a flick of his wrist he tied the boy's hands together.

"What the-" the boy said, but Makoto pulled out a long piece of rope and tied him to an electric pole. The other boys hurried away to leave their friend alone with Makoto. The freckled boy began kicking and screaming for them to come back but Makoto punched him in the face.

"I-" He punched the boy again. "-am-" Punch. "-a-" Punch. "-BOY!!!" he slugged the boy in the jaw, then released him, where he fell in a heap on the ground.

Aoiro stood over him, his body trembling. "Um... Makoto? I think you went a little overboard."

Makoto gulped. "Yeah... I really hate it when people say I'm a girl, though. It's annoying. I mean, isn't it obvious I'm a guy?"

The blue-haired girl chose not to answer.

* * *

Kodomo and Seki walked in the shadow of the library, gaping at the majestic flags on its roof flapping in the wind. The library was one of the oldest and biggest sand structures in Sunagakure, and both sensei and student were amazed at its appearance. 

"Dude."

They walked up the huge steps and into the building.

Seki yawned and stretched his arms. "I've heard that Sabaku no Gaara, the Kazekage of this village, loiters around this library often. I'm going to see if I can find him and give him a yoga lesson or two." Seki walked off towards the center of the library.

As usual, Kodomo went to go explore. The library, in all of its splendor, had to have some secret passage or something that could amuse him for a while. Glancing around, his eye caught a little brown object darting around the tops of the bookshelves. He identified it as a squirrel. Giggling, he followed it. "Make go boom!"

He dashed after the squirrel all the way down the library's main hallway, past the nonfiction section, past the poetry, past history and science. It finally turned into a dimly lit corner of the library with few books on the shelves. The squirrel retreated all the way back into the corner, where it crawled into a hole in the wall. At this point, however, Kodomo was determined to catch it. He glanced behind him to make sure no one would see, and then he stuck a paper bomb by the hole in the wall.

The poor wall didn't stand a chance.

Kodomo grimaced as he hid behind a bookshelf, tensely waiting for a library employee to come and investigate the loud noise. When no one came, he cautiously walked towards the gaping hole he had just made very quietly, subconsciously holding his breath.

The spiky-haired boy suddenly sensed something, despite his little chakra control. Something wasn't right... there was something in there, something much bigger than a squirrel.

He noticed something on the floor, a thick folder lying right by the entrance to the hole. Picking it up, he looked at the cover. _A Compilation of Terrorist Organizations Currently a Threat to Shinobi Villages_ _by Chou Kinomi_ was scrawled on the front in pen.

Footsteps were approaching. A thin film of sweat appeared on Kodomo's forehead as he dropped the folder and crouched behind another bookcase.

A man in a black cloak featuring a sun and a moon emerged from the darkness.

* * *

LordXwee: Heh. CLIFFHANGER! 

Natsyourlord: You barely worked. Again.

LordXwee: Whoopsie. I TRY! I now have to manage two stories. This one and Get LOST!

Natsyourlord: You barely manage this one anyway.

LordXwee: Wah. But at least TheSilverCross helped us out a lot this chapter. THANKS, THESILVERCROSS!

Natsyourlord: Yea. Woo. Go TheSilverCross.

LordXwee: OH! And whoever wins second place in the popularity contest gets a full-scale drawing by me!

Natsyourlord: You don't want second place...

LordXwee: Nuh-uh. Just REMEMBER TO VOTE PEOPLE!!!

Natsyourlord: And this concludes Chapter 9.

-Natsyourlord & LordXwee

PS: Chibis of Team 8 and Ereshkigal have been posted!!! Check it out - there's a link on our profile.


	11. Run and Hide

Natsyourlord: Welcome back, everyone.

LordXwee: In honor of the tenth chapter, we're making a special Squad One battlescene chapter! Woo!

Natsyourlord: This should be interesting...

LordXwee: Oh - and as for the popularity contest, the only person ANYONE voted for was Kodomo!

Natsyourlord: What a surprise.

LordXwee: Tee hee... yup. Wait - no! The medic-nin got two votes! I GET TO DRAW SOMETHING!

Natsyourlord: Oh, God. Poor medic nin. And Makoto and Seki got tied for third. Sadly, they don't get a drawing by me, but on the bright side, there's no drawing from LordXwee, either.

LordXwee: -kick- But anyway, Kodomo's full-scale drawing, along with some of the chibis, are now on Natsyourlord's freewebs account. Theres a link on our profile and another on hers.

Natsyourlord: Be sure to tell me what you think...

LordXwee: But we've rambled enough. Time to get on with the story!!

* * *

Kodomo stared as the man stepped out from the shadows. In the light, he could see that the man had long black hair pulled into a ponytail and green eyes. He stooped to pick up the folder. 

The spiky-haired boy held his breath. Who was this strange man and what was he doing with the folder? He probably wasn't supposed to be back here in the first place, and with a folder that full, with that kind of title, he probably wasn't doing recreational reading.

The man flipped open the folder and skimmed through the papers, a smile growing on his face. He suddenly snapped the package shut and turned to the bookshelf Kodomo was hiding behind. Kodomo flinched. It felt as if the man could actually see him.

"Come on out," he said. His voice was very low and dripped with malice. "I know you're there. You obviously don't have much chakra control."

Kodomo's eyes widened. So he had sensed him. That wasn't good. Quickly he tried to think of a way out, but ruled that option out immediately. The room was too small and bare to escape from without being grabbed by the man, and if he tried to fight him he would likely lose. His only choice was to come out of his hiding spot.

Swallowing hard, he stood and walked around the bookcase. The tall man looked down at him with an amused smirk. "Oh, so you're a leaf village shinobi," he said,seeing Kodomo's headband.

Kodomo simply stared back.

"Did you pick up this folder?" asked the man, waving it in front of Kodomo's face. The genin simply stared back at the man in defiance.

The man cocked an eyebrow. "What are you, mute? Say something."

Without answering, Kodomo continued to stare into those penetrating green eyes.

The man sighed. "Okay, okay, kid." He twisted his face into an extremely fake smile. "My name's Denrei. What's yours?" he asked.

Kodomo allowed his stare to become more fierce, but other than that did nothing. His heart was pounding in his chest, screaming at him that this was a dangerous man, this Denrei. However he wasn't quite sure how he was going to deal with this for much longer. Denrei's demeanor was quite intimidating.

"Fine. Don't say anything." Denrei turned to look out into the hallway, and Kodomo spotted a scar on his face that mixed a length of white hair in with the black.

"Okay. No one's coming," said the ponytailed man, turning back to Kodomo. "Now, what does this order say?" he reached into an a pocket invisible to Kodomo and pulled out a slip of paper. "If there are any incidences where a civilian gets involved in the retrieval of essential documents," Denrei read aloud, "eliminate the civilian and continue with the operation." He smiled. "And guess what, kid? You're a civilian, and you've gotten involved in the retrieval of essential documents." His hand began to glow with chakra. "I wonder what that means."

Kodomo bit his lip. He had one chance to escape, and he had to escape now. But he wouldn't be able to get an exploding tag without drawing attention to it, and that would probably lead to an even quicker death.

Wait. There was always _that_ option.

As quickly as he could, he began to focus his chakra to his forehead, which was covered by his Konohagakure headband. The energy was flowing quickly... any second now...

Denrei plunged his hand towards Kodomo's chest. The brown-haired boy closed his eyes and willed his chakra to go faster...

Something struck him unbelievably hard in the chest at the same time as the exploding tag beneath his headband detonated. Kodomo got thrown back by both blasts, and he immediately got to his feet and began running. His headband fell off somewhere in the hallway, but he didn't notice. Red blood unsurprisingly began to seep into his eyes, obscuring his vision. Quickly he wiped his eyes and kept going. He could hear Denrei screaming in furious agony from behind him, and that only drove him to run even faster.

Stuffing his hand into his weapons pouch, he pulled out two custom-made paper bombs. He stuck them to the walls and kept running. From behind him he heard an explosion followed by another howl of pain, and knew that his exploding tags had done the job.

He finally arrived in the central area of the library. Much to his dismay, there was no one at the front desk, but he could hear voices wafting down from the second floor. Mustering up his strength, he screamed "MAKE GO BOOM!!!" and hoped that Seki would hear. But he didn't have time to wait for his sensei - he kept running as fast as he could, arms and legs pumping furiously. He had to get out of the library before-

A sudden pain erupted in his chest where Denrei had struck him, sapping away at his strength. Kodomo screamed and fell to his knees. From behind him, Denrei seized him by the collar and pulled him limply to his feet.

"You've caused me enough trouble, kid," growled the man, staring furiously into his face. "Now I'm gonna kill you once and for all."

Kodomo winced. So this was how he would die... at the mercy of a man in a strange cloak trying to cover up... something. He still didn't know.

Denrei's glare changed into another insane smile. "G'bye, kid!!!" he roared.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing with our teammate?"

Shocked to hear Makoto's voice, Kodomo's eyes flickered over to the entrance of the library. There stood both Makoto and Aoiro, heroically standing in fighting positions. Aoiro had pulled two scrolls and a wrist-worn bottle of ink from her weapons pouch, and Makoto was clutching a kunai in one hand and several shuriken in the other.

"Wow," said Aoiro. "That was dramatic." Makoto, Kodomo, and Denrei all stared at her for a second before turning back to the task at hand.

"Let Kodomo go," said Makoto, "And we won't have to hurt you."

Denrei snorted. "You? Hurt me? You're a freakin' Konoha _genin_!" You couldn't hurt me if my hands were tied and you had a chainsaw!" He shook Kodomo again, who cried out in pain. "This your teammate? Good. You'll get your first glimpse of death, then."

"Let him GO!" yelled Aoiro and Makoto at the same time, both charging at the black-haired man. He blinked, then suddenly disappeared, taking Kodomo with him.

"What - where'd he go?" exclaimed Aoiro. Makoto and Aoiro looked around but Denrei wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Come on, he's probably still in the library! Split up!" Makoto commanded.

Aoiro nodded and sprinted into the east wing of the library, eyes widening at the obvious damage done. She knew Kodomo was good with exploding tags, but... wow. A whole wall was crumbling. She made a mental note to claim to know nothing if she was commanded to pay back the library.

She continued in her pursuit, finally stopping at the doorway of a small room that had clearly suffered catestrophic damage - quite recently, by the looks of it. The blue-haired girl stooped to the ground, where a soot-coated Konoha hitai-ate lay. Next to it rested an overstuffed folder, some of the contents splayed across the floor. She picked up the folder, which was labeled _A Compilation of Terrorist Organizations a Threat to Shinobi Villages by Chou Kinomi._

"Ereshkigal..." Aoiro mumbled, brushing the ash off the front. She opened the folder and flipped to the most recent-looking page. Only a few sentences were scrawled on it:

_March 27th - today I have found a documentation in Sunagakure's library. It tells of a daughter of the infamous Sabaku no Sasori, along with an exiled Jounin of the Sunagakure shinobi ranks. Apparently the two of them were not involved romantically, but rather were drafted into an unknown organization. Both left without explanation, and I can only assume that they were up to no good. The possibility still remains that their destination was that of the organization I have been researching, and if this is the case, they are far more powerful than I imagined._

_March 30th - A new discovery I have found here in the Sunagakure library - a terrorist group by the name of Ereshkigal. It seems that this group was founded by Akatsuki, its sole purpose to replace the Akatsuki in the unlikely event that they ever were exterminated. However, Ereshkigal eventually rebelled, and separated from Akatsuki. They had recruited only a few members, but were powerful enough to make themselves disappear completely. Could this be where Sasori's daughter and the exile Jounin have gone - to join these Ereshkigal people? I don't know for certain. However, in a few days the Rokudaime is being assigned his position, and my services are required. This may be the last time I ever write in this folder, and I hope that whomever may read these words puts my workings to good use._

Wide eyed, Aoiro slowly closed the folder. So Ereshkigal were subordinates of Akatsuki? The concept made her go numb. If that was true, which it probably was, then she, Makoto, and Kodomo would definitely die. Akatsuki had been immensely powerful, and from Seki's stories, so was the woman in the black and silver cloak he'd fought. Three genin would be little more than pests to a shinobi of that caliber.

* * *

LordXwee: Mwahaha. We are evil. 

Natsyourlord: You did NO WORK.

LordXwee: Not true! I wrote one sentence!

Natsyourlord: Yeah. ONE SENTENCE.

LordXwee: That's why we cut this chapter short - it was mostly just worked on by Natsyourlord, who was super busy and couldn't work that much. Plus my internet is HORRIBLE.

Natsyourlord: I swear to god, Xwee, I'm going to eat you.

LordXwee: You wouldn't. Bodily fluids would spew from your orfices. Such as snot. And saliva. And whatever that liquid in your eyes is called.

Natsyourlord: That stuff spews from orfices anyway! Saliva from the mouth, snot from the nose, liquidy-stuff from the eyes.

LordXwee: ...BE THAT WAY, THEN!!!

Natsyourlord: Wow, we're disgusting.

LordXwee: Yup. MAKE GO BOOM!

-Natsyourlord and LordXwee


	12. It All Comes Down to the Folder

Natsyourlord: Welcome back, everybody.

LordXwee: Yay! Sorry this took so long to get posted. It's called procrastination. We do it sometimes. But about the fic: this will probably be the last chapter featuring Squad One's journey to Suna. Next coming up... well, you'll have to read the chapter to find out!!

Natsyourlord: Yeah... whatever.

LordXwee: Natsyourlord has recently read an emo book recommended by our friend, Empress Hockee. As it is, she's now gone into a temporary state of emo-ness.

Natsyourlord: Gads. A vein. On my arm. I must slice it.

LordXwee: NO! Don't go emo on us, Natsyourlord!

Natsyourlord: Go away... I'm wallowing in my own sorrow...

LordXwee: Enjoy this chapter while I try to change Natsyourlord's path in life!!!

**NOTE: Submissions are currently open for GENIN AND JONIN ONLY, preferrably genin not native to Konoha. Once the next chapter is posted, the submissions will be closed. Thank you!**

* * *

Kodomo felt himself disappear with Denrei in a gust of air, reappearing somewhere in the upper levels of the library. From where he was standing - or, rather, being held - he could see over the balcony into the central section of the library, where Aoiro and Makoto were running in opposite directions. Undoubtedly they were looking for him, but by the time they found him it would be too late. 

"Huh," said Denrei. "You know, if you had been older - and much, much more powerful - you probably could have made it among our ranks. Too bad." He looked down at Kodomo's stomach. Where he had struck the boy earlier, there was a large, pulsing seal. "That seal will sap away at your strength until you die. It'll be a long death, and very painful. A pretty good end for Konoha scum." As if on cue, the seal throbbed again, and Kodomo cried out in pain.

"But maybe I should end your life quickly," Denrei continued. "And leave a little present for your leaf village friends. You know, like your head?" Denrei whipped out a kunai and pressed it against Kodomo's throat, leaning in close to the explosive boy's face. "I'll make you a deal, take it and live." He slid the kunai back into the pouch.

"Listen up," Denrei whispered, leaning in so close to Kodomo that their noses were almost touching. "Get your friends' attention. Get 'em up here. You do that, everything will be fine between us."

Kodomo considered his options, which wasn't exactly easy when he was under the furious stare of this strange man. Make his own teammates suffer or die himself. Even if he died, though, Denrei would still go after his friends. Whatever group this man belonged to, they didn't play nice. The seal sent another wave of pain throughout his body and Kodomo bit his lip to keep himself from screaming.

"Make your decision. Now." Kodomo closed his eyes, already regretting the decision he was about to make. If his plan backfired, everyone died.

He nodded.

Eyes twinkling in that creepy way again, Denrei shoved his hand into Kodomo's weapons pouch. Kodomo blanched, but Denrei only pulled out an explosive tag. "Make go boom, right?" The man pasted the tag onto a wall and backed away from it, still holding Kodomo by the collar. Kodomo wanted to fight against the grip, but he could feel his strength ebbing away, courtesy of the seal. He wasn't even sure if he could stand up on his own anymore.

**BOOM.**

The brown-haired boy coughed in the dust, sure that the explosive would get the attention of Aoiro and Makoto. He was certain Denrei was going to capture, or kill his teammates - or both. And he knew that without help, they wouldn't make it out alive.

* * *

An explosion from the Suna library wouldn't only catch the attention of two young genin. Sure, it was one of the greatest and oldest buildings in all of Sunagaure that housed the countless scrolls and books, but ordinary people could care less about it. Ordinary people would be glad that the monument was being destroyed, and that soon newer, more modern buildings could be constructed. 

Fortunately, the Kazekage wasn't an ordinary person.

Sabaku no Gaara rushed out of his office building upon hearing this especially loud detonation. He had heard some far off explosions before, but now he could tell it was coming from the library. Not only was the library one of his favorite places to be - it was a very quiet, homey place - but when he'd become Kazekage he'd sworn to protect his village. He was absolutely certain, right now the library and everyone inside needed to be protected.

* * *

"Aoiro!" Makoto yelled, trying to call his teammate, "Aoiro!" 

Makoto paced back and forth in the central lobby, where people were beginning to file, confused. He felt stupid for suggesting the idea of splitting up. They would've found Denrei and Kodomo much faster, true, but whoever Denrei was, one Konoha genin alone couldn't fight him. Makoto wasn't even sure if he and Aoiro together could rescue Kodomo. His teammate was probably already dead by now. Who knew? Maybe it would be better if he just ran away.

_No,_ the braided-haired boy thought immediately. _Not again. I won't run away, not a second time. I have to help even if I think I'll die!_

"Darn it, Aoiro, WHERE ARE YOU?" Makoto screamed, tearing himself from his thoughts.

"Right here," Aoiro said, coming up behind him. "You didn't need to burst my eardrum." She had the folder she'd found in the other room tucked tightly under one arm.

Makoto was practically jumping up and down with anticipation. "Did you hear that? Kodomo was calling us! BOOM!"

Aoiro grimaced, trying not to let her fear show. "Or it's a trap, moron. That guy who had Kodomo isn't a normal person. I think he's part of that terrorist group that Waya - I mean, Seki told us about."

"The one with that girl who pushed Hinote-san into that coma?" Makoto asked.

Aoiro nodded, "Yeah. So he's not going to be an easy opponent. I think that this-" she held up the folder, "-is the reason he came to Suna in the first place."

A lightbulb almost visibly turned on in Makoto's head as examined the folder. "We could use it as a bargaining chip!"

The gray-eyed girl grinned. "Exactly."

* * *

Denrei was tapping his foot, waiting for the genin's friends to arrive. Kodomo himself was on the ground, his breathing slowly becoming racked as he fought to stay conscious. Denrei almost felt sorry for the boy - he almost reminded him of himself. Guilty of nothing more than selling some fabric from his family's tailor shop to the wrong guy. But then the ponytailed man remembered - Kodomo was a Konoha genin. Konoha was, in his mind, evil, and therefore the boy was as well. He considered releasing the seal, still confident that he could take on three genin even if one was injured, but the thought exited his mind as he thought of what might happen if Kodomo had enough strength to fight back. 

"Go...boom!" Kodomo gasped from the floor, shaking Denrei from his thoughts.

"I don't care if you're cursing at me or whatever 'go boom' means," he said angrily, "but your little buddies have to be here for you to get off the hook. Got it?"

"Go boom," Kodomo repeated.

Denrei kicked Kodomo in the stomach. "What did I just-"

"HEY!" Aoiro shouted, dashing up the stairwell with Makoto behind her, "Don't do that!"

Glancing up, Denrei got his first good glimpse at Aoiro. "Oi," he said, a smirk spreading across his face. "You're pretty cute. How old are you - sixteen? I'm a year older than that, you know. We could hook up - you don't need to be hanging out with a bunch of little kids."

Aoiro shuddered in disgust. "I'm fifteen, you disgusting little termite," she spat. "And, quite frankly, I would rather swim in a vat of liquid nitrogen at the North Pole than go out with you. Now let Kodomo go or I'll go extreme-PMS-chick on your sorry ass. Got it?"

Makoto stared in bewildrement at Aoiro. "Nice choice of words," he managed to say.

Denrei, however, obviously didn't feel the same way. "Don't you talk to me like that, babe," he said. "I can just kill you right now - you don't stand a chance against Ereshkigal."

_So Waya was dead-on,_ thought Aoiro, pulling out the folder. "Actually, I think we do, if we've got this." She waved the folder temptingly.

"H-hey," Denrei stammered, eyes widening. "Put that down... you don't know what it is."

Makoto folded his arms. "Who says we don't? You release that seal from Kodomo, and we'll give you the folder. Got it?"

"You don't understand!" Denrei pleaded. "If they find out that you were an obstacle in my getting that, they'll kill us all!"

"Then don't let them find out," Aoiro snapped back, "Whoever _they_ are."

The Ereshkigal agent briefly considered his choices. The folder was the sole reason he was here, and his first solo mission as an Ereshkigal spy. If he failed, forget about it. He'd be killed instantly. He could kill the kid, but then these two might escape with the knowledge inside the folder. He couldn't let that happen.

With a sigh, he stooped to the floor, where Kodomo had begun to tremble violently. Aggressively, he held down the boy's wrists with one hand and with the other, pushed down on the seal. It flashed three times, then faded. Kodomo's body went limp. "There," Denrei said. "Now give me the folder."

From the stairwell, a wave of sand suddenly whirled into the room, flying at Denrei. It just barely missed, colliding with the huge stone wall behing the ponytailed man.

"What the-?!" he yelled as another sand wave came at him, this one in the shape of a claw. It grabbed him by the ankles and whipped him into the air. Denrei began to scream, fighting the sand, but already the sand that had crashed into the wall had reformed, pulling his hands far apart so that he couldn't form any hand seals and escape.

The Kazekage had arrived.

"Who are you?" Gaara asked, hands outstretched. Particles of sand from the floor slowly rose up and joined the cloud that held Denrei prisoner.

Denrei spat at the ground. "Why would I tell you?" He knew who Gaara was, but didn't care at the moment. He was trying to think of an escape route. Denrei really wasn't a combat fighter; he was more of a spy, gathering information. This fight would be difficult for him to win, indeed.

The red-haired village leader sighed. With a flick of his wrist, the sand flung Denrei through the air where he collided with a stone pillar. More sand rose up and pinned him to the pillar before gravity could even have an effect.

"I'm going to ask again," Gaara growled. "Who... are... you?"

Denrei gasped in pain. Through the spots that were dancing through his vision, he could see the hot blue-haired girl and the not-so-hot, black-haired girl hoisting their unconscious teammate and fleeing the scene. Figured. For such pathetic twerps, they sure knew how to run. Ow, his head...

"I'm..." Denrei trailed off. What could he say? "I'm a member of Akatsuki."

He had expected a stunned reaction from Gaara, but instead, the Kazekage simply smiled. "You must think me a fool," he said. "Akatsuki is dead. I, personally, have seen to it."

"Shut up," the ponytailed man growled. "You don't know anything."

"Oh really?" asked Gaara. "Then why don't you tell me all about it? Starting with why you were trying to kill those Konoha genin."

"Konoha sucks," he replied. Gaara sighed at Denrei's failure to cooperate. He released Denrei from the pillar and used the sand to carry him down, still holding his arms and legs far apart.

"Pathetic," Gaara said, "You really are a coward."

Denrei was about to laugh and say something sarcastic, but the Kazekage flung him up into the air again. Gaara thought of crushing him to death, but decided against it. He did need some information from the man, after all. He hesitated for a moment, and in that split-second, Denrei pushed his hands together as he started to fall down to the ground. Gaara's sand claw grabbed onto Denrei, but in a poof of smoke, the red-haired man knew he was too late.

"Dammit."

* * *

"Dudes! What happened?" yelled Seki as he saw Aoiro and Makoto appear from the rapidly crumbling library, supporting an unconscious Kodomo.

"Kodomo got himself mixed up with some terrorists, if you can believe it," muttered Makoto, grimacing as his hold on his friend failed for a moment. "His chakra was being drained, but he's just unconscious. He needs to sleep. Are we still checked into that hotel?"

Seki pressed a hand to his forehead. "Aw, man, that's where I just was," he groaned. "Checking us out. But don't worry, I'll go check right back in. Come on, little dudes, let's go! And I'll bet that Kodomo's gonna be insanely hungry when he wakes up - we gotta get him a kebab or something!"

* * *

A fourteen-year-old boy with short black-blue hair and dark eyes stared icily at the two other genin from beneath his Kirigakure headband, which was sliding down his forehead and over his eyes. His fingers, appearing black due to the gloves he wore, ran through his hair, making it stand up on end.

"The Chuunin Exams are to be held in Iwagakure this year," he said. His voice was as icy as his glare. "Sensei has confirmed our registration."

His only female squadmate, also fourteen, pushed her black-and-blond hair behind her ear. "Where did you hear that, Konisura?"

"I've heard it too." The third and youngest member of the squad had finally spoken up. "And this year we're going to pass. Last year we didn't even make it past the second test." His brown eyes froze pointedly on the girl before his eyelids dropped over them again.

"It's not my fault-" the girl protested before Konisura interrupted.

"Ryuichi did nothing wrong. In fact, if I recall correctly, it was _you _who went and got yourself captured by those Kumogakure ninja. And if it weren't for that, we would have kept both scrolls and passed."

The other boy was rendered speechless - something that didn't happen very often. Finally he shoved his hands into his pockets, the dagger strapped to his forearm just barely missing the black fabric of his pants.

Ryuichi had to stop herself from sticking her tongue out at him. "Take that, you ass," she muttered, compensating. The thirteen-year-old pretended not to hear.

"It doesn't matter, anyway." Konisura folded his arms and turned away, the bloodred star of his clan on the back of his jacket now visible. "That was last time. As you said, Kagami, we're going to pass this year. This time, we'll become Chuunin - and crush any other worthless genin that stands in our way."

* * *

Natsyourlord: Bwahaha. I have achieved the ultimate achievement: being cliffy without being cliffy. Heh. That was awesome, admit it.

LordXwee: That wraps up the Squad One story arc, and brings us to the next one: the Chuunin exams! Woo! A note to MazeGame1231: We had to change Konisura's rank and family origins because A) The Uchiha clan is basically dead right now, and B) Him being a Kage at 14 was kind of ridiculous. We're still gonna use him though. And we gave him a new last name, Tansei, which means "handsome". If you don't like it, just tell us, but if you don't give us any feedback we're just gonna use it.

Natsyourlord: And as for Aoko-San, we changed Ryuichi's rank simply to fit the story better. Both of these characters were the best submitted so far for that endy-scene, so we decided to use them. Thanks, guys.

LordXwee: Now, remember the notice at the top: WE NEED GENIN. FOR THE CHUUNIN EXAMS. -twitch-

Natsyourlord: And a few Jounin, but we've got some that we haven't exactly used yet, so we don't really need very many.

LordXwee: Yup! Mostly Genin, and not from Konoha, please, try from Iwa (Village Hidden Among Stone) or Kumo (Village Hidden in the Clouds) or even Ame (Rain), Kiri (Mist), or Suna (obvious). But no more Konoha genin. We have a few saved up for emergency squad formation, but please, submit some genin, people!

Natsyourlord: Just remember, if you've already submitted a character, you can't submit again. Sorry.

LordXwee: -coughanonymousreviewscough- But please submit if you haven't already! Please!

-Natsyourlord and LordXwee


	13. Calling All Genin: Head to Iwa!

LordXwee: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Natsyourlord: Welcome to WWTBAN Chapter 12! That took us almost a month! Sorry, but no one likes introduction chapters... But whatever. Even though we didn't originally plan it this way-

LordXwee: -OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Natsyourlord: -um, anyway, we didn't originally plan it to land on such a cool number - twelve is an awesome number - but yes, the Chuunin Exams story arc begins here! We-

LordXwee: -OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Natsyourlord: ...Yeah. But, point is, we're going to start this chapter off on Team Eight (that is, Yami Kira-

LordXwee: -OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Natsyourlord: -Akemi Chiasa, and Hamano Asuka), and then we're going to switch the focus off to all the squads we have so far. In other words, we got genin. The feedback for last-

LordXwee: -OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Natsyourlord: -chapter was exactly what we were hoping for, and we have plenty of characters to continue the chuunin exams with ease. Submissions are now closed. Thanks, everybody.

LordXwee: -OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Natsyourlord: -slap- WILL YOU STOP THAT!

LordXwee: Owie! I'm sorry; I'm just so excited! Chuunin Exams! WOOOOOOOOOO-

* * *

"Oi! Hamano!"

Hamano Asuka pushed her sweat-dripping, shoulder-length black hair out of her eyes to see her teammate Akemi Chiasa running up to her. "What is it," she groaned, leaning against the thick block of wood on which she had been practicing her taijutsu.

Akemi came to a quick stop in front of her friend. "Ew," she mumbled, seeing her sweat-soaked, tomboyish clothing. "Anyway, Hamano, guess what?"

"You've finally come out of the closet about your homosexuality?" the tomboy asked. She was immediately greeted with a whack across the forehead.

"No!" said Akemi. "We're - that is, you, Yami, and I - are going to be participating in the Chuunin exams!"

The blue-eyed girl had to shake her head vigorously to ensure herself that she wasn't dreaming. "You serious?" she asked. "Koudo-sensei actually recommended us?"

"Hell, yeah!" exclaimed her peppy squadmate. "We're gonna completely destroy all the other squads!"

* * *

"They're going to be completely destroyed by the other squads."

Koudo Kobushi sighed and covered his face with his hands, spinning around on his bar stool. He and Seki were hanging out in a local tavern. "For all I know, they're going to get killed! Why did I even think of registering them? They're not ready!"

"Chillax, dude," said Seki, fresh from his trip to Sunagakure. "They'll be fine. Little dudes always pull through in the end - just check out my squad. They faced terrorism, and now they're back, better than ever!"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it..." groaned Koudo, running his fingers through his hair. "But your squad, unlike mine, actually works well together." He picked up his sake cup from the counter and held it out to the barmaid. "More, please."

"Do some, like, teamwork training," the hippie replied, taking a sip from his own sake cup, "Make their skills _blend_, you know? Just go with the flow."

"Pfft, blend?" Koudo scoffed, "Hamano uses chemical jutsu, Yami's stealthy and powerful like an assassin, and Akemi uses elemental jutsu and knows pressure points. How the heck do those blend?"

Seki shrugged, "Don't know, man. I have my own squad to train for the exams."

"Gee, you're a big help."

* * *

Squad Five was waiting by the gates of the village for their jounin escort. Due to the fact that Hinote was still in a coma, they had to have another, higher-ranking shinobi come with them and register them. For this reason, the squad was leaving early.

"Frammit," muttered Tokoro, kicking a stone at his feet. "Why can't they just let us go on our own? We're qualifying to become journeyman ninja - so let's _journey_ as_ ninja_ already!"

Kaeri groaned in agreement. "I know. Or maybe we could just... steal Hinote-sensei out of the hospital and carry her to Iwa. How about that?" She cracked a grin. "I'd carry the IV fluids, Tokoro, you'd carry the oxygen tank, and Tsurai could transport the body!" Tsurai shuddered at this, making Tokoro and Kaeri laugh.

"What's so funny?"

Behind the genin, a man of eighteen or nineteen had appeared out of nowhere. He had a shock of white hair, brown eyes, and his hitai-ate strapped in a strange fashion across his chest. From the headband dangled the sheathe to a rather long sword.

"Ryto Dotu," he said, introducing himself to the confused genin. "I'm taking Hinote's place on this. Ready to get going?"

* * *

At the training grounds, another team sat, discussing the exams with their sensei.

"Why can't we just participate with two people?" whined a boy with blond spiky hair and honey-colored eyes. People were often reminded of the Rokudaime when looking at him. "I mean, we're just as qualified as anyone else from Konoha! So what if one teammate dropped?"

"Really, sensei!" added his teammate, a skinny girl with brown hair that fell into her eyes. "It's not as though we aren't powerful enough. We've proven that. And even though Minaki can be _really_ annoying, I make up for it. Plus, let's not forget..."

The sensei sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "Cut it, Kumo. I get enough of your excuses all the time. Geez." Upon seeing the hurt look on Kumo's face, however, she began to feel guilty. "But... you are absolutely correct. You _should_ be able to take the test. It's not up to me, though - the rules have already been written. You guys need a third teammate."

Minaki looked up excitedly. "So you mean if we found another guy, we could take the test?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You rock, Jurei-sensei!" shouted Kumo and Minaki at the same time. Jurei winced. Together, they'd probably just broken the sound barrier.

A rustle came from the bushes nearby, followed by a sudden yelp. Kumo, Minaki, and Jurei all glanced up in surprise. A small boy stumbled out of the thicket, several twigs caught in his hair and baggy samurai-style robes. The robes were noticeably covered with seals.

"Stupid freakin' hakama, getting caught in all the stupid little branches, I oughta strip outta these dumb robes up just beat them up to teach them a les-" The boy paused mid-sentence, blinked and slowly looked up. The three previously conversing members of the squad all stared at him in stunned silence.

He brushed some of his copper-colored hair out of his eyes with his left hand, on which a wall-climbing claw was strapped. "Oh hi!" he exclaimed. "I, um, I'm Fuu. Fuu Chishio. Sorry for stalking - I mean, intruding on you like this, but, um, I'm a genin, and since you need an extra teammate, I figured I, you know, might as well..." he trailed off nervously.

The silence was finally broken by Minaki.

"Talk about good Karma! This is freakin' SWEET!"

* * *

"Shian-baka! Why can't you let us go on our own?"

Shian Kyoudai sighed. He'd discussed this with Chiisai Hiromoto, the girl he was bodyguarding, a thousand times, and she just wouldn't get it. "Your dad pays me to basically follow you around and make sure you're not injured or killed. I can't leave you alone unless you're at home."

Chiisai stomped her foot, her robes slipping around her small figure in an awkward way. Blushing, the twelve-year-old pulled them back up and tightened her belt. "But I have Tatsuo-sensei to protect me! You don't need to come!"

With a fake-looking grin, Shian tried again. "You know, Chiisai, I won't be interfering with the exams. I won't be around you during any of the fighting. I just need to come along. I'll barely talk to you, if you want."

"That's what I want."

Shian's face fell. The kid was like his little sister - that he got paid to protect. Sighing again, he turned to Chiisai's teammates, who had been watching with amused smirks. "I'll just hang around with Demos and Haru. Right, guys?"

Demos snorted and tossed his copper head, shoving his gloved hands into his pockets. Haru simply smiled at the ground, adjusting the strap that held his sword to his back. "Sure, Shian. Whatever."

"Come on, be nice," said Tatsuo Hideaki. "Shian has to do this. It's not like he really has a choice."

"Actually I do have a choice," Shian corrected. "It's just that if I decide to stop being Chiisai's bodyguard, my whole family will be thrown out onto the streets."

Tatsuo nodded seriously. "Of course."

* * *

Squad One was in the training grounds, practicing each of their respective abilities. Kodomo was hard at work designing a flash bomb that could blind an enemy for fifteen minutes, Makoto was practicing stealth techniques by basically stalking his squadmates, and Aoiro was attempting to perform a seal disguise jutsu that she couldn't seem to activate.

"Betto Kugou Jutsu!" Aoiro exclaimed for the upteenth time, drawing the seal upon a sheet of paper with her thumb. A poof of smoke appeared around her, and when it cleared, the only thing that changed about her was the fact that her hair was now a bright purple.

"Well?" she asked Kodomo.

"Make go boom," he muttered absently, ignigting a match and setting it to a paper bomb. It released a weak flare before dying out.

Makoto came up behind them. "Hey - looks like you need some more flare on that. That's not gonna blind anyone. And Aoiro, why is your hair purple?"

"M-Makoto!" Aoiro jumped. "I didn't even notice you were there!"

"Really?" The boy grinned. "Looks like my training's getting somewhere!"

If looks could kill, Makoto would have been turned to ash by his teammates' glares.

* * *

"Shinobu!" Miyako Takahiro called out to her teammate, "Shinobu!"

Shinobu Takeshi sighed. He didn't dislike the girl, but she constantly flirted with him. And every other boy in Suna. By his side, Chinatsu Katsuo walked along eating some chocolate.

"So, are you excited for the Chuunin Exams?" Miyako asked.

"No," the only male of the group replied, "We have so much training to do." He looked over to Chinatsu, "Can I have some chocolate?" She broke off a piece and handed to him. He popped it into his mouth.

"Oh Shinobu," Miyako frowned, "Be a bit more optimistic!"

"I wish the exams were in Suna this year. Iwa's all rough and rocky... not to mention full of tunnels," Chinatsu said.

"You guys are no fun at all," grumbled Miyako. "We're the most total disfunctional team ever. No joke."

Shinobu and Chinatsu murmured in agreement.

"You're not supposed to agree with me!"

* * *

"This village is full of light-skinned people," Konisura noted.

Ryuichi sighed. "That's kind of racist."

"No it's not," the boy argued. "I'm just noticing."

Iwagakure was a large village tucked neatly into a small valley. Surrounding the valley, like a protective barrier, were tall mountains that acted as barriers against the elements. Even so, due to the high elevation of the village, it was very cold. There were lots of dimly-lit tunnels around and beneath the city in which most people traveled through, and there were even some "buildings" in the tunnels as well, which were actually wide hollowed out areas. This was where the Irigakure squad was headed - to get their village passes checked.

A girl passing the trio and their sensei accidentally bumped into Kagami. "Hey, moron! Watch where you're going!" he yelled rather loudly.

The girl snorted in his direction. "Hmph, you're the moron!" she replied. Her voice was slightly nasal, as if she had a sinus infection. "Hey... you're not from Iwa. Who the hell are you?"

"We're here for the Chuunin exams," said Konisura, stepping in. "That's all. Please excuse my imbecilic teammate."

Kagami twitched. "Imbecilic?"

The girl, however, began to snicker. "Are you trying to be polite? Well, don't be. My squad is going to crush yours. Right, guys?" Grinning obnoxiously, she turned to the two girls behind her, both of whom wore expressions of extreme embarrassment.

"Don't fight with them, Gosai. It's pointless," groaned one of them, a girl of about fourteen with long black hair tied at the nape of her neck. "We don't want to pick a fight right in the middle of the street, anyway..."

"Shut up, Shani! They're the intruders, we can say what we want about them!" Gosai said, her voice more obnoxious than ever.

The other girl next to them - she looked only ten or nine - began to tremble.

"What's the matter? Your little teammate gonna cry?" asked Kagami tauntingly.

Kagami was wrong.

"SHUT UP, WILL YOU?? WE DON'T WANT TO FIGHT!! CAN'T YOU JUST GO REGISTER AND LEAVE US ALONE?!" screamed the girl. Passerby turned to stare.

"Eh... sorry..." muttered Shani, grabbing both Gosai and the small girl by the wrists and dragging them away. "You just _had_ to provoke them, didn't you, Gosai? Just _had_ to. And Bijin, you have _got_ to stop screaming like that. Seriously, did you swallow a bullhorn when you were little?"

* * *

"Kyojiro Kagenuma," said Kyojiro Kagenuma, flashing her entrance pass and ID at the Iwa proctor. He nodded at the girl, taking in the black hair, yellow eyes, and blue swirl designs on her cheeks cautiously. _Weirdo,_ he thought, _that's all we get at these things. Weirdos._

Her two teammates - Rikkia Tarou and Aoi - also showed him their papers. He scratched the group, Squad 42 of Kumogakure, off his list.

Kyojiro turned away from her teammates as soon as they had been ushered into the central room, where other groups of genin were waiting anxiously, and pulled a kunai from its holster greedily. In a well-practiced motion, she made a small slice across the pad of her finger and smiled as the blood seeped out of the cut. She smeared the blood across the wrist of her blue fingerless gloves, then stuck the bleeding wound into her mouth and sucked. Immediately a wave of satisfaction swept over her. She couldn't help but shudder with pleasure. Blood. Gallons of blood would be spilled soon. It wouldn't matter if it were her own or someone else's, but -

"Kyojiro, are you doing that gross blood thing again?" asked Rikkia.

The black-haired girl spun around, pulling the finger out of her mouth. "N-No," she said, savoring the remaining flavor of blood in her mouth. "Why? Does it seem like I would be?"

"You do it all the time," Rikkia pointed out. "I think you need to go see a counselor or something."

Aoi groaned, running his fingers through his short, wavy brown hair. "Look, Rikkia. We all know that Kyojiro's a psychopath. And you think that the reason we exist is to look for the meaning of life-"

"Correction, _I_ need to look for the meaning of life."

"Whatever. Point is, if any of us want to pass this test, we're going to have to put our psycho-ness behind us. We've been working together for a few years now. Think we can get along for a bit?"

"Sure, whatever you say, Aoi," mumbled Kyojiro, absently squeezing a small stream of blood from the nick on her finger. Almost as though in a trance, she traced a swirl in the wood of the desk she was standing next to.

"Oi, that's exam property," said a blond-haired girl walking in. She grabbed Kyojiro by the wrist and gently but firmly pushed her hand away from the desk. "Go get a band-aid or something."

Kyojiro growled. "And who the hell do you think you are?" she asked the girl, who couldn't have been any older than her fifteen years.

"I'm Tashina Aidame," the blonde replied, "the proctor for the first section of the Chuunin Exams. Listen up!" she raised her voice over the hubbub of the room. "We're gonna get started now. Everyone take a seat for the first section of the exams!"

* * *

Natsyourlord: -pant- -pant- -pant-

LordXwee: Thank... Thank the heavens... It's finally done!

Natsyourlord: Our apologies... -pant- to Trueswipe... -pant- ...we needed another Genin... -pant- who would fit that particular squad... -wheeze-

LordXwee: And we're also sorry to... -pant- Typhlosion009... because we did in fact get Ryoto, we just... we just didn't have a place to put him yet... -pant-

Natsyourlord: We're sorry... -cough- to anyone who didn't... who didn't get their character included yet... -pant- but this chapter required loads of effort on our part...

LordXwee: And to anyone who... whose character we switched villages or ranks... -wheeze- we're sorry about that too...

Natsyourlord: -cough-

LordXwee: -wheeze-

Natsyourlord: -keels over-

LordXwee: Please review...

-Natsyourlord and LordXwee


	14. Time to Cheat, Part I

LordXwee: HI!

Natsyourlord: Where's my chocolate?

LordXwee: What chocolate?

Natsyourlord: -foams at mouth- You promised CHOCOLATE if I called THAT NUMBER!!

LordXwee: Since when did you become Mello?

Natsyourlord: -tackles- You said CHOCOLATE AND SLAVE LAB-

LordXwee: -hands piece of chocolate-

Natsyourlord: Yay. Now here is the long waited arrival of the most-

LordXwee: fabulous!

Natsyourlord: -awaited story of OC history-

LordXwee: WWTBAN!!

Natsyourlord: ...and we hope you enjoy.

**NOTES to ScreenSurfer and Typhlosion009: We've changed your character's names around a bit. ScreenSurfer, your character didn't have a name, so her new name is Kemuri Meisai. And Typhlosion009, Ryto was submitted both as a jounin and a genin, so we're changing the genin's name to Taizen Shiroi. Thanks!**

* * *

Kyojiro raised an eyebrow at the blonde who had just shoved her away from spreading blood - her _own_ blood, no less. "You're the proctor? But you're just a kid. A shrimpy little kid."

"Kid?" Tashina asked, "If I'm a kid, then you're a tween. And a genin besides. Pay attention when a Chuunin speaks." She narrowed her blue eyes threateningly.

"Chuunin, Jounin, proctor, whatever," the psychopath said, "I could still kick your ass."

"Sadly for you, if you even think about striking a proctor, not only will you be disqualified but your _own_ ass will go flying through that window. Now sit down and shut up."

Kyojiro hated listening to authority, but Aoi and Rikkia were motioning for her to sit down as well, and she didn't want to get disqualified just yet anyway. Sit through a few questions, as she had learned the first time she'd taken the test, and then it was off into an insane survival contest. There she could beat the living shit out of somebody, even _kill_ somebody, and slice open their body and watch as the heart gave out, as the lungs stopped pulsing, as the overflow of blood gushed out and splattered her clothes...

"I said _sit_," Tashina repeated, sharper than she had before. Rikkia pulled on Kyojiro's loose sleeve, trying to pull her down onto the bench. Reluctantly she sat, her mind still on the live dissections she felt sure she would soon enjoy.

In the back, Demos Sarati nudged his friend and teammate Haru Tekketsu. "She's kind of cool, don't you think?"

"Dude, she drinks her own blood and is way older then you," Haru responded, "And I don't think she's interested in nine-year-olds anyway."

"Ew," Demos grimaced, "I didn't say I _liked_ her-"

"You two in the back!" Tashina called, noticing them whispering. "Quiet!"

A warm flush rising up both boys' necks, they sank in their chairs, much to the delight of an amused Chiisai.

"All right," said Tashina, staring evenly at the 34 genin teams seated before her. "Let's get started here, shall we? My name is Tashina Aidame. I'm fourteen, the first proctor of this exam, and just because I'm younger than you may have expected-" she glared at Kyojiro pointedly "-doesn't mean I don't have total authority over you. Get it?"

One hundred and two heads nodded.

"All right. Everyone should have a numbered card that the admissioner gave you. You were told to keep it. Everybody please take that out now."

Hamano reached into her pocket and pulled out the card. "Seventy-two," she muttered, looking at the number. Yami glanced at his, muttering "fifteen" under his breath, and Akemi held hers up, showing the number forty-four.

"There is a number on each of the seats. Everyone go to the number seat that matches the one on your card."

A few minutes later, everyone had settled into their seats. No two teammates were directly next to each other.

Tashina forced a smile at the genin. "Okay, everybody, listen up!" She grabbed a piece of chalk from the rack and began to write on the blackboard. "Each of you has in front of you a written exam with ten questions on it. Those ten questions-"

"Um, excuse me?" interrupted a nasally voice.

Tashina groaned inwardly. "Yes?"

Gosai stood up, a confused expression plastered on her face. "What's the deal with the tenth question? It says we have to wait until forty-five minutes of the exam have passed before we get it. That's dumb."

"The tenth question is such an impossibly hard question that we have to take it off the test for fear that your eyeballs will melt," the blond-haired proctor grinned, feeling pleased with herself. Gosai flushed and sank slowly back into her seat. "Anyway, let's move on to the rules.

"As I was saying, each of you has ten questions on that test. You also have ten points when you start out. For every question that you get wrong, we will deduct one point. If you get all ten right, you keep a perfect score of ten. But assuming you get, say, two wrong, we'll take away two points, and your score will be eight. Any questions so far?" She flickered her gaze from Kyojiro to Gosai and back again, as if daring them to say something.

When no one raised their hands, she moved on. "Also, please keep in mind that even though this is a written exam, it's counted as a team event. Therefore your score is combined with your teammates'. You want to try to have as few deductions from your original thirty points as you can."

"W-Wait a minute!" exclaimed Aoiro, getting nervous. "What if one person on the team scores extremely high, but the other two members fail? What then?"

"Sucks to be you," smirked Tashina, "Because if any member of the team loses all their points, the entire team fails. No exceptions!"

A groan went up around the room.

"Don't question authority," the proctor snarled.

_Oh, crap,_ thought Chiisai, her blue eyes widening. _I stink at taking tests... Shian was always there to help me through them. And Dad paid off the teachers to give me passing grades... What do I do?_ She looked on either side of her. On her left, in seat thirty-one, there was another Konoha genin with reddish-brown hair who was wearing a gray coat. He glanced at her, bit his lip, and turned back to the proctor. On Chiisai's other side, in seat thirty-three, an Irigakure ninja with black hair and brown eyes stared contempuously at Tashina. Absently with his pencil, he was carving the initials K.U. into his desk.

Chiisai rubbed at her temples. _Crap, crap, crap. This is _so_ not good. My only choice will be to cheat!_

"Next rule," said Tashina, "If anyone gets caught cheating, or helping a cheater, that person will automatically lose two of their ten points. So no cheating!"

_Ack!_ Chiisai was close to ripping out her white-blond hair in frustration. _This is impossible! No way will I pass without cheating!_

Tashina smiled again - and this time she didn't have to fake it. This torture stuff was _fun._ "And the final rule - if you lose all of your points, whether it be from cheating or from answering incorrectly, that person automatically fails. And remember, if any one member of the team fails, the rest of the team fails with them!"

Chiisai wasn't the only one who was currently beating themselves up. Minaki Arakado was also suffering.

_Hmph. If they don't want us to cheat, then dammit, that's what I'll do!_ he thought. _After all, how hard can these questions be?_

"You can start..." Tashina watched the second hand on her watch tick closer and closer to the twelve. "...now."

Papers flipped over.

Minaki blanched. _Aw, man..._

In seat number twelve, Aoiro looked down at question one. She knew her team could get through this - although she was fairly certain Kodomo suffered from ADHD, he wasn't stupid, and neither was Makoto. They could definitely do this!

**1.) If you are standing at point A at an elevation of 3000 km on a grassy terrain with a north wind of 6mph and are currently uncamouflaged, with a river to the east flowing southeast and a forest to the west, where is the most likely attack going to come from and why? What is the best escape route and why?**

Aoiro stared down at the paper. "What the hell?" she mumbled. "Okay, I'm 3000 km above sea level... um... does that have significance? And the wind... that should make a difference, right? Er..."

"I said, quiet when testing!" Tashina yelled.

The blue-haired girl blew some air out of the corner of her mouth. _It's okay, I'm okay. I have an hour. I'll be perfectly fine if I take it slow..._

Bijin, the only ten year old on her team, glanced up to see where her teammates were. Well, actually, to see where Shani was. Gosai had already exploded at the instructor, and from that Bijin knew that her friend was in seat number one, while Bijin herself was sitting five rows back, in seat number fifty-nine. Even all the way back here, she could see a film of sweat forming on the back of Gosai's neck. Her teammate was obviously struggling... then again, so was she. But where was Shani?

The ten-year-old finally spied her teammate, sitting conveniently five seats to her left, in seat fifty-four. Shani was concentrating hard; she wrote something on her paper, scratched it out, and let out a sigh, obviously having trouble.

Biting her thumbnail, Bijin looked back down at her own test. After quickly scanning over question one, she decided she couldn't answer it, so she turned to the next question:

**2.) Decrypt this code.**

The black-haired girl didn't even bother reading the rest of the message. If there was anything she wasn't good at, it was cryptology. Looking at the rest of the questions, though, she was certain she wouldn't be able to answer _any_ of them correctly on her own...

Kagami tapped his pencil on his desk. To his right was a Suna genin, probably in his twenties, and on his left there was a small girl with white-blond hair. She was obviously having an impossible time. In fact, everybody was. The questions were difficult for all of them.

Then again, they probably didn't take this test before...

Kaeri Utir ran her fingers along the length of her paper. "This is impossible," she breathed. "Totally impossible. How the heck do they expect us to answer any of these without cheating? It's almost as though-" She blinked.

_It's almost as though they _want_ us to cheat!_ Kaeri felt a smile spreading across her face. _Of course! That's the whole point, anyway - they want us to cheat, but only those of us good enough not to get caught will be able to pass! Why else would they make it a two point deduction for every time we get caught? They give us multiple opportunities... but only if we're bad enough to get caught more than once will we really have penalty!_ She looked around. Tsurai and Tokoro were both sitting behind her, so she couldn't see if they were still struggling, or if they'd figured it out yet. But they could both figure it out themselves. Now how could _she _cheat?

Of course! Aeuri! The wolf cub usually trotted at her heels, but it was very possible for her to sit up on Kaeri's head. And from up there, the pup could look around and get the answers. No one would suspect a wolf could understand writing, much less a person understand that wolf's yips and whines. Now it was only a matter of time before everyone else figured it out too, though. It wouldn't be surprising if some others already had. She had to keep her paper hidden beneath her arms from now on...

Aoi glanced at the two genin on either side of him. Both were older than he was, probably in their late teens, but neither seemed to know any of the answers. However they had both tried to cheat already, and one of them had gotten two answers down. Simply by using his peripherals, Aoi had managed to steal them both, and he knew he hadn't been caught. Aoi was good at using his peripherals - when he cooked, he usually read the instructions out of the corner of his eye. He practically had 360 degree vision by now.

He pushed a lock of curly brown hair out of his eyes and glanced up at Kyojiro, who was sitting a few rows ahead of him. She seemed to be laughing. Then again, she was always sadistic when thinking about blood, or cutting herself, or cutting other people. She probably had stolen an answer, then spent the rest of the time maiming herself.

Aoi sighed. Out of all the people in Kumogakure, why did he have to get stuck with _her...?_

Miyako was sitting directly behind a woman who had been writing ever since the exam had begun. She assumed this meant that the woman knew exactly what she was doing, and so Miyako waited until the woman finally stopped writing before making her move.

"_Debakubi no Jutsu - _Art of the Assassin's Knife," she whispered under her breath, forming hand seals beneath the table. The woman in front of her suddenly went stiff. Slowly, her hand trembling, she slid her paper over so that Miyako could see a few answers.

Miyako grinned and began to write. The woman had seemed pretty willing. Then again, when you thought a knife was being held to your throat, most people were.

Enaku Kai, a proctor, watched silently over the anxious Genin. He had already written down several numbers, most of which were already on their third or fourth offense. What the heck was wrong with these genin anyway? Most of them were pathetic. They just tried looking over shoulders and little kid stuff like that.

Right now he was eyeing a Suna genin in seat thirteen, who was completely bald but had a feminine look to him. On the back of his neck a kanji was tattooed carefully. The name on top of his paper read Shinobu Takeshi.

One of the undercover chunnin sat in seat number three, conveniently right in front of Enaku, flying through the test and getting desperate looks now and again from the nervous guy next to him. Enaku waited until the guy's eyes swept over the chunnin's paper before he made the final mark.

"Applicant number two," Enaku called, "Out."

Shinobu grinned as the whole room turned to look at the applicant. "No... no way..." the applicant gasped. "I didn't cheat!"

"Yeah," said Enaku. "And I'm secretly an alien from Jupiter who eats slugs for lunch. Get your teammates and get out."

As most of the room watched the disqualified team reluctantly get up and gather their things, Shinobu had a different plan in mind. Carefully he drew one of his tessen, or war fans, and flicked it gently. The pen on the desk of the undercover chuunin rolled off and fell to the floor with a small clatter. When the chuunin noticed he bent to pick it up, and it was at that point that Shinobu lifted his eyes from his own paper and quickly scanned over two answers of the chuunin's, writing them quickly before the chuunin sat up again.

Enaku turned back from the door and saw the boy writing furiously, though Enaku hadn't seen Shinobu cheat. The kid had done something, but whatever it was he had been smart and waited for the distraction before making his move. Enaku grinned. _Pretty smart of him. Guess I'll let him slide._

All around the room, he was noticing, people were having strange behaviors. There were some who were staring at each other's backs, others who seemed to be fiddling with their pencils or papers while casually glancing at other people's tests. Lots of the other proctors were busily writing on their clipboards. This was about to get interesting.

* * *

Yagami strummed his guitar absently as he stared at the door in front of him. Ucheki should be back by now. Where was she? Dammit, if she didn't come back, he would have a stroke. She had already been gone for several days and no word had come from her. She'd been due back a few hours ago. Yagami swore, if she didn't come back alive he would _so_ kill her. They fought a lot - almost every second - but in a way, Yagami used that as a base for their relationship. They were the only teenagers in the whole place, so they had to hang out a lot. And that may have been why Yagami felt... affection... for her.

The spunk she had, her dark, smooth hair, her ice-blue eyes... they were all perfect. And she was strong. And persistent. And, let's face it, cute. Very cute.

But affection was very hard for Kijin Yagami. So he took it in stride, by being a complete ass.

Finally the door opened and in stepped Ucheki, followed by a man in his early thirties. He was wearing a tan trenchcoat and black cotton pants, which eerily matched his sandy hair and black eyes.

"Crap, you're alive," Yagami said cockily.

Ucheki raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I am. Though now that I've heard that _horrible_ guitar, I kind of wish I wasn't."

"That stings, Ucheki, it really does."

"Good." With a toss of her hair, she led the sandy-haired man down the hallway and into the corridor that would lead her to Hakkyou. It wasn't until she was totally gone that he finally allowed himself to release the relieved sigh from his throat.

He'd have to work on that.

* * *

Ucheki and the enigmatic man stepped into Hakkyou's dimly lit chamber, and knelt down in front of the leader himself, who was studying a scroll intently. Raising his eyes without much interest, he absently asked, "And who is this?"

Ucheki hastened to reply. "A new member for our ranks, sir, to possibly fill the hole Misasushi left."

Hakkyou glanced at her. "Former status?"

"S rank missing nin from Iwa, known for his sealing and genjutsu."

Hakkyou didn't appear to hear; he just kept looking at the scroll.

Internally, Ucheki was fuming. _Dammit, Hakkyou! This is exactly what you wanted me to do, isn't it?! Why aren't you-_

Without warning Hakkyou stood and flicked his wrist. A burst of flame sprouted up from where the sandy-haired man was kneeling. It engulfed him, illuminating the dark room for a few seconds, and then disappeared, leaving nothing but a small pile of ash.

Ucheki's jaw dropped.

Suddenly, the same man who was supposed to be nothing but ashes stepped out from behind Hakkyou, holding a kunai.

"May I ask your name?" Hakkyou said, tracing a design in the ash.

"Kai Fujihana..." said the obviously ticked-off man. "Was it absolutely necessary to try to kill me?"

Hakkyou exchanged his smirk for a slight frown. "It _is_ necessary for one of my subordinates to be able to respond quickly in any given situation, to have the ability to dodge a simple attack, and to follow my orders and actions without question. Anything else?" A slight red gleamed in his eyes, daring his new recruit to challenge him.

Fujihana smiled, and it was actually genuine. Here was a master he might actually enjoy working for. "No, nothing more, sir."

"Good." Hinatori stood up. "Ucheki, go fetch Yagami and Kin, it's time for your assignments."

* * *

The four top Ereshkigal members knelt before their leader silently. Hinotori paced back and forth, eyeing all of them intently.

"We have been experiencing some severe failures lately. I largely believe this is due to the neverending interference of my damn son trying to protect his little girlfriend and the fact that our numbers are significantly smaller than the shinobi villages."

There was a murmur of agreement.

"However, we are now going to take steps to remedy these fallbacks. Fortunately, the shinobi villages are currently in the midst of the chuunin exams, so I doubt there will be any sort of retaliation against us. Yagami, Ucheki, I wish for you to circuit the shinobi villages and recruit potential soldiers of our cause. I want _no one_ lower than A-rank."

Ucheki and Yagami simultaneously groaned, glaring at each other.

"The assignment is of the utmost importance. We can't afford to have any of your petty arguing get in the way from here on out. Think of it as an exercise on teamwork." He looked at the two scowling ninjas. "Now GO!"

They got up and walked out of the room, fists clenched.

"Now, Kin, Fujihana, I have a more important task for you. I need you to go and stop my son from gathering support. If he gains enough power, he will become more than an interference. Normally I would go and do it myself, but unfortunately I have some other matters to attend to."

Kin nodded obediently. He didn't want to anger Hakkyou any more that he already had. "Of course, sir." Motioning to Fujihana, the two left the room.

Hakkyou sat back and sighed. Being an insane mastermind was hard work.

* * *

LordXwee: Gasp! That took us another three weeks!

Natsyourlord: That's because you went to Florida for a week and then I went to DC for another week, and it was impossible for us to work for two of those three weeks.

LordXwee: Oh yeah. Woo, I got sunburned!

Natsyourlord: That's not exactly something to be thrilled about...

LordXwee: Whatever! We hope you enjoyed WWTBAN! We know the last few chapters have been kind of put-off, but we really are trying! Oh, and in case you didn't catch it at last chapter, we have closed submissions. No more submissions. And if you want to submit an Ereshkigal recruit, well... too bad. We're gonna re-open submissions eventually though, so be on the lookout!

Natsyourlord: We're gonna try to get the next chapter up soon. Like, within two weeks. We're working on it, honest.

LordXwee: Bye!

-Natsyourlord and LordXwee

PS: Thanks to TheSilverCross, who desperately wanted to write the part about Ereshkigal at the bottom. So we let him.


	15. Time to Cheat, Part II

Natsyourlord: This beginning message will be awkward and short because I decided to kill LordXwee. She barely works, so she won't be missed.

LordXwee: Hey!

Natsyourlord: Crap! Why aren't you buried in the sewage system where I left you?

LordXwee: Immortal, remember?

Natsyourlord: Whatever. Let's get to work. We're already waaaay behind schedule.

LordXwee: My hair is now blue! Huzzah!

Natsyourlord: You look like a blueberry.

LordXwee: I know! Isn't it awesome?

Natsyourlord: Ugh. Here's chapter fifteen. Finally. Enjoy.

* * *

Tsurai Aikou chewed the eraser of her pencil. This test was quite possibly the most annoying test she'd ever taken. She wasn't exactly stupid, but this... this test was practically impossible! She glanced at Yami Kira, another Konoha genin who was sitting next to her. Somehow or another - she thought it had something to do with the way he was glancing around - he had gotten some answers down. Tsurai waited until he set his pencil down before snatching it up and sliding it into her pocket without his realizing.

Yami went to pick up his pencil. But it wasn't in the place he'd set it down. Confused, he glanced at the floor in case it had rolled off, then searched his pockets. It wasn't there.

Still confused, he turned to Tsurai. "You seen my pencil anywhere?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"No," Tsurai hissed back. What she _had_ seen were his answers. Quickly she scrawled down answers five and six. Just as she did, she heard a proctor call out, "Seat number seventeen, out. Grab your teammates on the way."

The person in seat seventeen swore and stood up, kicking Tsurai's chair on his way out. Tsurai winced.

More and more people were being called out now.

"Number fifty!"

"Seat number seventy-three!"

"Number forty-one!"

"Ninety-nine!"

People groaned and grumbled as they were forced to leave, but eventually they were gone. Pretty soon people stopped leaving and there were only about half the people they'd started with.

"Ah, just in time," said Tashina, glancing up at the clock. There were only fifteen minutes left. "I am now going to add an extra rule."

A low moan rippled through the room. "You've gotta be kidding me!" yelled Gosai in her odd nasally voice.

"Why would I waste time kidding you? Your face is enough to kid anyone within a twenty-mile radius," said Tashina, recieving a strong glare from one of the older jounin proctors. Flushing, she continued. "The tenth question will be released after this extra rule."

"Oh jeez," Hamano complained. She also got a glare from Tashina. After a dramatically long pause, Tashina spoke again.

"If any member of any team fails this question, they and both their teammates fail. And they can never participate in the Chuunin exams, _ever _again."

"Make go boom!" Kodomo screamed from the far back of the room in shock.

"Yeah, he's right!" hollered Makoto, also standing. Tashina blinked; she hadn't even noticed that kid before he'd stood. "That's not fair at all!"

The blonde proctor shrugged. "Not my problem. Sorry."

The room went silent. Tashina's grin grew even wider, if that were possible. "Oh - but there is one more thing I need to tell you," she said. "If you would like to leave now... well, then you can try the exams next year."

Instantly hands went up. "I'd like to leave!"

"Yeah, me too!"

"That rule is ridiculous. There's no way I'm gonna risk never becoming a Chuunin!"

"I'm sorry, Datesha, Randamu... it's too much pressure! I can't do it!"

Tashina raised an eyebrow as the room slowly began to empty. _Huh. Ibiki was right. They _are_ all wimps._

After a good minute of this, the room consisted of about forty-two genin. It didn't look like they were going to leave anytime soon. Tashina was impressed. "Okay, are your ready for the final rule?" She barely had to raise her voice above a whisper; it was that quiet.

Tokoro stared back at her evenly. _She won't scare me off that easily..._ he thought, glancing at Kaeri to make sure she wouldn't raise her hand. Fortunately she was staring straight ahead, her jaw set.

Yami grinned. He wasn't going to give up; no way in hell. Hamano probably felt the same way he did... as for Akemi, if her hand even twitched, he would snap it off.

Minaki groaned inwardly. He hadn't been able to answer a single question! If he couldn't answer this final one, he would have failed his teammates - even if Fuu wasn't technically his teammate. This was going to be bad.

Haru flickered his eyes at Chiisai. She was struggling, he had seen throughout the whole test that she was stressed. In fact, the girl had been gripping at her blond hair so much, he was surprised she wasn't bald yet. However, Haru knew Chiisai, and he knew she wouldn't quit, not now. And as for Demos... well, Demos sometimes seemed tougher than Tatsuo-sensei. He would be fine.

Konisura folded his arms contemptuously across his chest. His team was the only one from Irigakure left. He felt it put his village at shame, but there was nothing he could do. Fortunately, he had already been through this part of the exam. He and his teammates knew what was coming next.

"Now then," said Tashina, staring out at the remaining Genin. "Is that everybody who wants to leave now? Remember, you won't get a second chance to leave."

Not one person moved.

"Okay then." A small smile formed on her face. She couldn't help it. "You all..." she paused for dramatic effect; she couldn't resist the suspense. "...Pass!"

Almost every eye in the room blinked in stunned silence.

"What the heck?!" screamed Minaki, standing up on his chair. "You mean you put us through all that stress for nothing?! For the love of crud, I thought I was gonna have an ulcer... whatever an ulcer is!"

"Minaki... _sit down,_" growled Kumo from her seat, shooting Minaki a death stare.

"I agree with him!" shouted Gosai. "That was stupid! That was really stupid! You suck, you stupid proctor-person! You suck eggs!" Chest heaving, Gosai sat down again, glaring daggers at Tashina.

Tashina blinked and shook her head, as though waking from a daydream. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that bit of your usual pointless rambling. Don't feel obligated to repeat it, though."

"I _said-"_

"Gosai! Stop trying to be smart!" hissed Bijin. "You don't pretend very well, you know."

Gosai flushed as nervous laughter swept the room.

"But... wait a minute," said Tokoro, raising his hand out of habit. "What do you mean we passed? Do you mean that the actual test was all for nothing?"

"No," said Tashina, glad to finally have a halfway intelligent person among the group. "As journeyman shinobi, you will sometimes have to obtain information in a way that no one can know how you got it. It will have to appear like you knew all the information all along, if you're going undercover... or you will have to slip by undetected, if you are on a stealth mission. This was a test of your information-gathering skills... in other words, how well you cheat."

Aoi spoke up. "Then what was the deal with the last question part?"

"As a Chuunin you will have to make impossible choices. If you can't take the risk of losing everything for something better, then you should probably stick to D-rank missions."

Aoi nodded. "I guess that makes sense."

"But still!" Gosai whined. "I don't see why you had to put us under all that pressure! I _still_ say you suck!"

Tashina's nostrils flared. _My god, how stupid can one person be?_ "You know what, Shiruku?" she asked, reading the name on the test upside down.

"What?"

"I was about to say that the only thing more annoying than you would be a bucketful of squeaking stuffed animals, a trumpet player with the runs and a bagpipe player falling down some stairs into that same bucketful of squeaking animals, but - I just realized - you're more annoying than that. My apologies."

One of the older proctors gave Tashina a sharp glare. Tashina flinched, but smirked when she looked back at Gosai to see the girl gaping like a fish.

"Well, since none of you seem to have anything important left to say, I think it's time we move on to the second stage of the exam. Ty, Kemuri... you guys can come in now."

Two people walked in the door. One - a girl of about fifteen with black hair and dark brown eyes, moved confidently, shoulders back and head up. The other, a boy the same age, more shuffled than walked in. He seemed to be in pain, and every few moments his body would give a twitch or a shake. His brown hair flopped in his eyes, making it difficult to see his facial expression. Other than that and the way he carried himself, the boy seemed completely normal - in fact, too normal. He wore a simple long-sleeved white t-shirt and black pants. His Iwa hitai-ate was tied around his neck. The girl, on the other hand, was clad in a white shirt with a black vest overtop, and black slacks - even her Cloud shinobi headband was on a black cloth, tied around her forehead and pushing her bangs up. She had bandages around her wrists and ankles, disappearing into her gloves and shoes. Hers was the look of a professional assassin.

"Wow, Blondie," said the girl, grinning. "We've got an awful lot of kids left. You sure you put enough pressure on 'em?"

"Enough pressure?" Gosai yelped, "She could have put on half the pressure and we still would have been jumping out of our underpants!"

"Speak for yourself," muttered Miyako. She, Shinobu, and Chinatsu would have to go after her later. She would be cake.

The black-haired girl smirked. "Well, then, wimp, be ready to have your... erm, underpants... ripped clean off from the stress you'll be under soon. The second stage of the exam is much more difficult than the first. Isn't that right, Ty?"

"Whatever, Kemuri," the boy mumbled. A violent tremor rippled through his body, and he hugged himself, murmuring quietly to himself. The genin stared.

Gosai, of course, spoke up again. "What's the matter with him?"

"Nothing. Nothing's the matter with me," Ty said, glancing up for the first time. Gosai blinked. Was it her imagination, or did his eyes flicker from brown to purple, and back again?

"Now then, let's get moving," said Kemuri. "The next stage of the exam is going to be held at the base of that mountain, way over there." She pointed out the window, to a huge black mountain. It was so tall that it's tip disappeared amongst the clouds.

"You're... you're joking, right?" asked Akemi nervously. What would they have to do on a mountain that treacherous?

This time, Ty replied. "Not at all. Let's get going."

"Blondie, your work is done here," Kemuri said, addressing Tashina. "It's our turn to mess with 'em."

* * *

Seki took a long drink from his sake glass and set it down on the table. "Hey, do you think the little dudes are gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, they'll be fine," said Ryto. "I was only with the one team for a little while, but I could tell - those kids are gonna do fine."

"That was your squad," muttered Koudo. "Mine is absolutely awful together. I seriously think Iruka was brain-damaged when he organized that team."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now," said Jurei Sendo. She was the sensei for Minaki and Kumo. "My squad is down one member - somehow though, they really managed to luck into finding another genin. It was kind of weird, though. He was hiding in bushes... anyway, my point is, they want to be there. If they leave, it'll be because they have to, not because they want to."

"I guess you have a point," said Seki. "My little dudes are great at working together, at least. Maybe they'll pull through."

"Mine won't," Koudo groaned. "People usually die in this exam from other people attacking. My squad will die because they attack themselves."

Ryto couldn't help it; he snorted.

Instantly the big man had grown angry. "You think that's funny, kid?" Ryto felt a stab at his pride; true, he was only eighteen, but Koudo wasn't much older than he was. "I'm not joking. If my team does die, it's more likely going to be because they can't work together and end up separating. And you're laughing about it."

The white-haired teen was angry now, as well. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that."

"Then how did you mean it?!"

"Both of you shut up!" yelled Jurei, standing and throwing out her hands in a "break it up" position. "This exam is putting a lot of stress on all of us, but there's nothing we can do about it. Look," she pointed to the clock, "It's been two and a half hours. They ought to be just about starting with the second test. Soon we'll know who will make it to the final round. Until then, let's just try to stay calm."

"Look at her! She's even younger than I am!" yelled Ryto.

Jurei twitched. "I'm thirty-five, dammit!"

* * *

"Well, here we are," said Ty, gesturing halfheartedly at the huge rock face in front of him. He seemed bored, as though he had seen it many times before. The genin could only stare in awe. The black mountain looked huge and intimidating; the twenty-foot barbed-wire fence surrounding the base looked like a speed bump in comparison.

"What are we supposed to do?" asked Demos. "Climb it?"

"Not quite," smirked Kemuri. "You'll have to fight on it. We've set up eight flags on the mountain. You can look for them, or you can wait for others to find them first and then you can ambush them. But the thing is, each squad needs at least one flag to get past the second exam. When you get your flag, head towards the peak of the mountain. You will find a tunnel leading to the place where you will present your flag. If it is legitimate, then you will have passed. If not, you're kicked out. Not only that, but you will be suspended from the test for five years!"

The group of genin stared in silence. Even Gosai didn't open her mouth.

"Um..." Ty stepped forwards. "It's time for you to go to your starting points. I will hand out a card-key to each squad... oh crap, where is it... ah-" he pulled a stack of cards out of his pocket "-and you will go to the gate number that is on the card key. When you hear the whiste blow, the locks on the gates will open and you can enter, but you'll need to swipe your card first. Oh-" He glanced over at Kemuri, who was holding another stack of papers. "You also need to sign those waiver forms."

"Why?" asked Shani cautiously.

"Because if you die in there we don't want to be held responsible," said Kemuri, grinning. "Isn't that obvious?" Shani shoved her hands into her pockets and blushed.

One by one the squads approached Ty and took a number. Then they signed their waivers and were instructed on where to go.

Once all the squads were safely out of earshot and the two of them were alone, Kemuri walked over to Ty, who had screwed up his face in concentration and pain. "How you holding up?" she asked.

"I'm... I'm fine." Ty looked away, shaking lightly. "He's being more aggressive than usual."

"Are you sure?" the black-haired girl reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but before she made contact, a jagged strip of skin on Ty's hand glowed violet. Instinctively she pulled back.

Ty covered his hand with the other and looked back at her. "Yeah. Konjou's restless, but I'll take care of him. It was probably the combined chakra levels of all those genin."

She nodded. "Okay. If you're sure." At that moment Kemuri's walkie-talkie buzzed. Unclipping it from her belt, she spoke into it. "This is Kemuri."

_"All squads are in position. Go forward and begin the second exam."_

"Copy that." Kemuri shrugged. "Well, here goes."

She and Ty quickly walked over to the metal box attached to the fence. Kemuri took out a key and opened the box. Inside was a series of levers, switches, and buttons. She pressed a green button inside the box and immediately a loud, piercing wail could be heard - it was loud enough to be heard for miles, in fact.

Ty sighed. "Let the games begin."

* * *

Natsyourlord: Guess what everybody? I finally finished it! And WITHOUT help from Xwee! She didn't work at ALL, and I can't kill her, so I locked her in a broom closet.

LordXwee: Mmmff!

Natsyourlord: Oh, and I might have gagged her, too. Maybe.

LordXwee: Mmmm hmmff!

Natsyourlord: Also everyone please thank Mojo817. He reviewed, essentially reminding us that we had to work on this again. I modified some quotes he gave us and put them in the story. Wh-hoo, Mojo817!

LordXwee: MMMMMMMFF!!

Natsyourlord: Shut up. Anyway, I'm going away in about a week, and I'm going to be away for just about the whole summer. So I'll try to get up one more chapter, with or without Xwee's help. It always motivates me more when you guys review though, so be sure to review!

LordXwee: -biting through blindfold- HELP ME!!

Natsyourlord: -kicks closet door- See ya in a week!

-Natsyourlord and (sorta) LordXwee


	16. The First Flags Are Found!

Natsyourlord: Well, we're back again.

LordXwee: And I'm free again! WOOOOT!!

Natsyourlord: That can be changed.

LordXwee: Meep.

Natsyourlord: Now, then. On to the chapter. This will be one of the first action-y chapters we've had in a while, so everybody better review on it in case our battle skills are a bit rusty.

LordXwee: And by the way? Like NO ONE reviewed last chapter. It made us extremely sad. PLEASE REVIEW. IT MAKES US ALL HAPPY.

Natsyourlord: The amount of hits on the story (2700 at the time we're typing this) tells us nothing except that the summary is intriguing. But the quality of the actual story, now that is what you have to tell us via review.

LordXwee: So be sure to review!!

Natsyourlord: LordXwee, do the honors.

LordXwee: Huzzah! ONWARDS!

* * *

Genin teams flooded the gates the instant they opened, some charging up the mountain and others searching behind every rock and tree for a flag. Of course, the mountain was massive - not to mention steep - so the teams rushing up found themselves losing stamina five minutes in. And the teams searching relentlessly were discouraged when they realized that the mountain contained thousands of potential hiding spots. The sad part was, not a lot of teams stopped to consider an alternative plan.

However, the squad from Kumogakure was not one of those teams.

"Aoi," Kyojiro said once the team was a few hundred meters up the mountain face, "I have a battle plan."

Aoi glanced over at his teammate. He tried to avoid looking at her as much as possible - she was a great fighter, but she was also completely insane. Not to mention the fact that her robe was always dangerously close to splitting open from the waist down, and he never wanted to accidentally look at her when it _was_ wide open.

"What is it, Kyojiro?" he finally said.

The girl's black-painted lips spread into a demonic grin. "We slaughter them all."

Aoi flinched.

"What? It'll be fun! Imagine, all their bodies spliced open, watching their hearts throb against their ribs, thier lungs gasp for their final breaths, all the blood..." She frowned for a moment. "Wait. If we killed them all, there would be no competition for later. We need to keep some of them alive. But still, I call anyone under ten years of age!"

"Kyojiro!" Rikkia scolded, rolling his brown eyes, "We are not doing that." He glanced over at Aoi, who was clutching at his stomach, looking slightly green.

"But we can kill and get away with it."

"That's out of the question," retorted Rikkia. "I noticed during the first exam, that girl - Grosoi? Gosay? Well, the one with the whiny voice - she and her team looked weak enough. And while we were in there, I happened to be sitting near her - I managed to get this." He held up a strand of red-gold hair, pinched between his finger and thumb. "We have her scent."

"Where's the fun in that, Rikkia? A weak team?" Kyojiro absentmindedly traced the small scars on her thumbs. "We should fight someone better. The weaklings don't deserve us."

Aoi sighed. "Kyojiro, you have to understand that some squads taking this exam surpass us. We don't want to be beaten ourselves."

Rikkia nodded. "Now, then. We don't even know if they have a flag or not. In fact, it's not likely. It's probably best to just take them out, then search them. Though I doubt they'll even have found one; from the way those proctors were talking, they're probably hidden throughout the mountain, and on varying levels. It will probably be several days before we come across a flag or someone with one."

"Well, we have seven days," said Aoi. "It said so on the roster. So it must be possible for at least a few teams to get a flag and make it to the top in seven days."

"But the more teams we take out," included Rikkia, "The more likely it is that we pass."

Kyojiro, who had zoned out until that point, perked up. "You mean, we get to fight?" she asked excitedly. "Can I dispose of the bodies?"

"Fine, whatever," Rikkia muttered. Kyojiro whooped and fingered her kunai pouch. Aoi grabbed his stomach again.

"But first we need to actually _find_ another team," Rikkia said pointedly. "You know, and take them down. And make sure their clothes don't get too bloody until we have the chance to search them."

"But _then_ I dispose of the bodies?" Kyojiro asked pleadingly.

"You can dispose of them _if_ and only _if_ we get our hands on a flag."

"You're no fun," Kyojiro mumbled. She glanced at the sword on her hip. "It's okay, we'll get to cause some poor saps some pain," she said, directing her words at the sword. Aoi and Rikkia glanced at each other. Their teammate seemed to get weirder by the day.

* * *

"Wow Gosai!" Bijin exclaimed as loud as always, "I can't believe you found a flag already! You, of all people!"

Gosai grinned and proudly held up the bright yellow flag. The team had gone slowly up the mountain. When Gosai had climbed halfway up a tree she spotted it stuck to the trunk.

"Don't be so loud," Shani muttered under her breath. She hated when they acted dumb. Still, she didn't want to cause conflict.

"Did you say something Shani?" Gosai asked. Shani sighed and shook her head, returning her gaze to its usual place; the ground.

"Let's kill them," Kyojiro hissed, not far away from the Iwa team. Kyojiro, Aoi, and Rikkia were hiding behind bushes. "They're right there."

"Wait," Aoi whispered, "Let's figure out how to attack- we need a strategy."

Kyojiro frowned. "Simple. I attack the flag-holder. Aoi goes for the baby and Rikkia the other one." Before either teammate could protest, Kyojiro stepped into the open.

"Give me your flag," she spat, drawing a kunai. Automatically Shani and Bijin jumped away, leaving Gosai alone. Surprisingly, the redhead grinned.

"No," she replied. Shani and Bijin had pulled out kunai too, in case Kyojiro came for them. Kyojiro shrugged and sliced her kunai through the air, splicing Gosai's arm. The fresh wound dripped blood. However, Gosai didn't flinch. Instead she grinned and pressed her hands in the _Ne_ position.

"_Aka Soujuu_," Gosai said, grinning even wider, "Scarlet Manipulation."

The dripping blood began to move around Kyojiro's ankles. She let out a shriek as it tightened, cutting into her skin. Normally she would have enjoyed the sensation, but she knew she was stuck.

Rikkia emerged, drawing his katana slowly. He ran toward Bijinn, blade raised, but Aoi's voice stopped him.

"Rikkia, no! You can't spill any blood, she'll manipulate it!"

Rikkia nodded and went for Gosai instead. Pointing the katana at her neck, he snarled. "Let her go or I'll kill you and your teammates, right now." Despite the threat, Gosai still stayed firmly in position. Kyojiro let out another shriek of pain.

"I told you not to underestimate them," Aoi shouted.

"Release her," Rikkia demanded, gripping the handle of his weapon tighter. Gosai didn't move.

"You wouldn't cut me," she smirked. "I would remove her feet. Suck to be you!" Rikkia looked over at Aoi, mouthing "help!" Aoir nodded.

"Tatsu I-Tori Uma Saru," Aoi said under his breath, forming the matching hand seals, "_Mizu Gokusha_- Water Prison." The brown-haired ninja thrust out his hands. A ball of water rose from a nearby creek and flew at Bijinn. Bijin managed to sidestep the attack, but it made contact with Shani. The water molded around her torso, restraining her arms to her sides. Her body was totally coated with water.

"Bijinn!" Shani shrieked through the water, probably being the loudest thing she had ever said. "Aah!" Bijinn stared helplessly at her teammate. Aoi noticed this.

"She's afraid of water," Aoi guessed, correctly, "I could drown her- but I won't if you let Kyojiro go."

"Is that all you want?" Gosai asked, her voice regaining its nasally quality.

"No," Aoi answered, "You have to hand over your flag to Rikkia."

The clearing seemed silent other than Shani's muffled whimpers. After a moment, Aoi clenched his fist and the water around Shani's head.

"It's your choice."

* * *

In another part of the mountain, the only surviving team from Suna crouched in a small cavern. Shinobu and Chinatsu appeared comfortable enough, but Miyako was complaining.

"It's so wet in here," she mumbled, just loud enough for the others to hear. "And dark. And cold."

Chinatsu glared at her teammate. "Miyako?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Miyako opened her mouth to snap back at her friend, but decided against it. They didn't really need conflict right now. She pulled her knees to her chest and sat in angry silence as Shinobu began to draw a diagram in the dirt with his finger.

He drew a circle first. "This is the mountain," he said, drawing a second circle around the first, "And these are the gates. We were given our card keys at the northern point-" he made a mark at one point of the circle "-and we were gate number twelve. So if the gates started at one, one being at the top and there being fifty gates in all, we entered about here." He made an X along the circle about eighty-five degrees from the starting point.

Chinatsu nodded. She admired Shinobu a lot. Though he wasn't the most combative, and he liked to shave his head - she found that a little weird; most people in Suna had shoulder-length hair to keep the sand and sun out of their faces - the kid was obviously intelligent. And he was fantastic at strategy, which made him a great teammate. With Chinatsu's own taijutsu, Miyako's genjutsu, and Shinobu's _tessen_ war fans, the three made a perfect trio.

Shinobu glanced up at her. "Are you paying attention?"

Blinking, Chinatsu nodded her blond head. "'Course. Keep going."

"Okay, then." He pointed to a certain point on the circle. "We were traveling uphill at about eight miles per hour, stopping after thirty minutes. So we're approximately four miles up. And based on the proportions of the mountain, I'd say we're about... here." He pointed to a point about six inches from the X.

"But... wait a minute." Chinatsu interrupted. "Did you count in the time we had to spend getting around that boulder?" A little while ago, the squad had run into an enormous boulder, too big to climb over. They'd wasted about five minutes going around. "So we should be about here." She pointed to a point a half an inch closer to the circumference of the inner circle.

"You're right, Chinatsu," said Shinobu sheepishly. "My mistake. Good thing you caught it."

Miyako groaned, the first sound she had made since Shinobu had started drawing.

"Is there an issue?" asked Chinatsu pointedly.

"Well..."Miyako looked up. "What exactly are you trying to accomplish by mapping this out? I mean, the important thing is that we get a flag and get to the summit, right?"

"Not really. If we can find out where we are, we can also estimate about where the other teams are, and we can ambush them," explained Shinobu patiently. "We can also deduce where there might be flags by exploring terrain. They're likely not going to be easy to find, you know."

"Plus, this way we can figure out how close we are to the summit," added Chinatsu, "Which gives us an idea of how long it'll take us to reach it over the course of seven days. If we can regulate how long we need to travel in relation to the size of the mountain, we can figure out at which point we should have a flag by."

Miyako glared. "I didn't exactly need that huge explanation. I'm not stupid, you know."

"I never said you were," argued Chinatsu, but already Miyako was looking away, hurt.

_Geez,_ she thought, _What's wrong with her?_

"Well," said Shinobu, standing. "I suppose that we should get going. We don't want to stay in one place for too long - someone could ambush us." He swept out his foot, turning the diagram into a smudge in the dirt. "We know where we are now. And based on the number of teams remaining and the number of gates, there's a pretty good chance that someone will come across this place soon. We want to be long gone by then. Remember: we need to get to the flag and get to the top. If we can, we're going to preserve our energy for the third part of the exam."

"Right." Both girls stood and swept the dirt off their pants, or in Miyako's case, skort. Shinobu beckoned for them to follow him out of the cave. He and Miyako walked outside, but something caught Chinatsu's eye. She froze, looking at the patch of rock just above the cave entrance.

"Um," she mumbled, "Was that there when we came in?"

"Was what where?" asked Shinobu.

"That flag." She pointed. The bald boy, curious, walked back into the cavern and glanced up.

"God," he said under his breath. "How the heck did we miss that?"

Sure enough, directly above the enryway to the cave, there was a red flag with a black kanji on it. It was dark in the cavern, but not so dark that they couldn't see the flag.

Chinatsu closed her blue-gray eyes and sighed. "That was dumb of us." Opening her eyes again, she focused her chakra to the soles of her feet, then walked up the side of the cave wall and peeled the flag off, tossing it to a waiting Shinobu.

"Fantastic!" he exclaimed. "Now all we need to do is reach the summit!"

"Yeah!" Chinatsu agreed. "Let's go, Miyako." She walked proudly out of the cave.

"Uh... Miyako?"

But her teammate was nowhere to be found.

Instantly a cold feeling formed in the pit of her stomach. Miyako had disappeared just after they had found a flag... a flag that thirteen other teams were looking for...

"Chinatsu! Look out!"

On instinct the girl yanked a kunai from its pouch and whipped around - just in time. A boy wearing a gray jacket with a Konoha forehead protector came flying at her, his own kunai in hand. Chinatsu used her knife to block him, bending her elbows to absorb the blow, then shoved him violently off of her. He somersaulted in the air, landing on his feet.

"I would think about giving up that flag if I were you," he said. "See, we have something that you want, and you have something that we want." He glanced up at a ledge about fifty feet above the cave. "Kaeri, show 'em."

A blonde girl in a black jumpsuit appeared on the ledge, holding Miyako tightly. Their teammate had the familiar glow of chakra bonds around her wrists and ankles, and a kunai to her throat. "Good work, Tokoro," called the blonde girl.

"Not so bad yourself," the boy - Tokoro - replied. "So?" he asked, directing his words at Chinatsu and Shinobu. "You wanna just give us that flag? We don't really want anyone to get hurt, but unless you give it to us, someone will."

"Yeah," said Shinobu, "And that person is you." He grinned and flicked his wrist, the war fan in it, and Tokoro went suddenly toppling backwards. He obviously had no idea what had just happened.

"What the heck just happened?" he yelped.

Shinobu was standing over him in a flash. "Sorry, kid," he said, "But if you want this flag, you're gonna have to fight for it, and there's no way that you can beat us. Not in this fight. We're too good."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Tokoro. He rolled over before Shinobu could react, jumped onto his feet, and drew back his kunai in preparation to strike. Quickly Shinobu snapped one of his fans shut and used its metal casing to stop Tokoro's blow. The reddish-brown haired boy used his momentum to try to lash out a kick, but Shinobu flicked his other wrist, and Tokoro's foot went off aim by a few centimeters. The sudden change in movement caused him to lose his balance, and he toppled to the ground.

Shinobu smirked. "Like I said," he told the Konoha ninja, "We're too good. You won't be able to beat us."

Tokoro grit his teeth. "Just wait - I'll have you on the ground in no time."

"We'll see about that."

* * *

LordXwee: Woo! This chapter got completed. Natsyourlord is now at camp. Sadly this camp is not SuperCamp, so she doesn't have internet access. I printed the chapter, sent it to her, she edited, and sent it back. Please don't eat me if the next part of WWTBAN doesn't come out soon.

-LordXwee & the spirit of Natsyourlord


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